


New Horizon

by Sabine M (HowNovel), Zena (HowNovel)



Series: The Return of Starman [2]
Category: Starman (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-27
Updated: 2006-07-27
Packaged: 2017-11-02 14:03:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 84,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/369786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowNovel/pseuds/Sabine%20M, https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowNovel/pseuds/Zena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 2 of The Return of Starman</p><p>Continues immediately following the events in Part 1.</p><p>
  <i>This story was edited by Zena. She wrote the first and the last scene/paragraph for this book. Also all funny scenes with the ghost are written by her. </i>
</p><p>Although his family knows that Paul is kept in the research center, nobody visits him. Paul knows that Scott has left the country and that he’ll never see him again. Jenny becomes very sick and can’t visit him either. Forrester thinks everything is his fault. He nearly dies. After he is brought back the general decides to move him out and gives him limited freedom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Horizon

NEW HORIZON

_"New Horizon" is an amateur non-profit publication for the enjoyment of STARMAN fans and is not meant to infringe upon copyrights held by Henerson-Hirsch, Michael Douglas productions, Columbia Pictures Television or ABC-TV._

_This story was edited by Zena Uzep. She wrote the first and the last scene/paragraph for this book. Also all funny scenes with the ghost are written by her._

_© 2006 by Sabine M_

###    
**Chapter 1**  


September 2005 ….

Ben had many hours to think about his decision to quit this project on the drive back. If he quit, he’d lose all his benefits and his pension. That left two choices: retire, or ask for reassignment. Fox would be gone in two more weeks. Ben really didn’t feel like working any more, at least not for the government. He decided he’d put in for retirement when they got back to the compound. He briefly glanced in the rear view mirror at George and Paul, and at his wife sitting beside him in the passenger seat. No one had spoken a word between them, except for Ben saying he would stop for gas at the next filling station. Forrester’s little travel adventure, which had started out badly with a car accident caused when George was busy talking on his cell phone while driving, ended with another accident, this one fare more serious. Scott Hayden, Paul’s son, had been shot by his wife. It was, and wasn’t, an accident. She did mean to shoot Paul to prevent him from running with his family. For Ben, Forrester’s latent act of defiance was something he’d hoped the alien had had the courage to display earlier, but he simply couldn’t or wouldn’t do it. Whatever the reason Paul chose to act at the moment, it was a mistake. Scott, in a heroic move to protect his father, placed himself between Christina and Paul. George was unwilling to risk killing Forrester and pushed the gun away, spoiling Christina’s aim. She had been so determined to stop Forrester from escaping, she kept pressure on the trigger, prepared to fire the gun if Paul took one more step. Fox’s decision to push the pistol away and her tension made for a deadly combination. The weapon discharged and Scott was hit. The situation got worse. A major artery had been severed. Paul picked up his son’s fallen sphere and attempted to heal him. George and Christina were afraid of Forrester using his source of power, but Paul defied them to stop him from proceeding. They all watched the alien with an unsteady mixture of fear and hope. Unbeknownst to George, Christina and Ben, Paul was weak from his earlier efforts to save Richard Hayward’s horses and ranch from the fire. He didn’t have the strength or energy to finish the healing. Jenny Hayden attempted once more to persuade the Starman to escape with her. They’d get help for Scott, but Paul surrendered instead. She became angry and accused him of being a coward. Despite all the advantages Ben had given the extraterrestrial to start a new life, free from imprisonment, Forrester either refused to accept them or threw them away one by one. Ben glanced again in the rear view mirror at the Starman sitting in the back seat with Fox. Paul looked absolutely miserable. Not only had he lost his family, he was going back to his life as a prisoner locked in a forgotten golden cage. _Perhaps Jenny was right_ , Ben thought. _Paul was too afraid now to take a chance at freedom._ Ben had overheard Jenny’s stinging accusatory words to her Starman. “They’ve browbeaten you into submission for so long, you’ve lost the courage to fight back.”

 _“Yes, we have, and he has,”_ Ben admitted. It made for a sad truth. He cursed himself for missing and ignoring all the signals. The first one was when he gave Paul those precious spheres. Forrester was genuinely happy to have them back. When he encouraged Paul to take them and run, however, he promptly refused. He later learned Jenny and Scott had an escape plan ready, and Forrester said he’d execute it on the way back once his family was safe in Mexico, but something about the way Paul said it got him to thinking Forrester had no intention of escaping at all. Every opportunity he had to run, he stalled until he lost the chance. Was it from fear? The nail in Paul’s coffin came when Ben nearly ran over Jenny’s dog. In order to save the animal, Forrester revealed his secret, that he had the sphere. Ben cringed when that happened, but instead of using it to escape, he gave it to George. There went Paul’s last hope of freedom. Finally, the accident with Scott happened and once more Ben had hopes Forrester would use his advantage and run, but he surrendered again. _Damn it, Paul! I’m so sorry we did this to you!_ he thought and stole a glance at his wife. She had finally stopped her crying. She was indeed sorry she’d hurt Scott, but he suspected she was mulling over Jenny’s last words, “was this worth it?” He’d been telling her for years with small hints, keeping Paul locked up in total isolation was wrong. This year was the first time he’d openly voiced his objection to the Starman’s incarceration. He’d had enough, but convincing his wife and George to let Paul go was an uphill battle. He thought he’d gotten through to Christina, but she proved him wrong. She was still of the mind that Forrester didn’t belong among the rest of Earth’s population, like he was some piece of valuable property that needed to be protected and sequestered away. That was the whole crux of the problem as far as he saw it. Forrester was not property to be owned like a slave. When would George and Christina see that? And how about the general? Maybe he could make them open their eyes with his leaving the project.

They arrived at the compound and the chief guard greeted them. George, sitting in the backseat of the car, lowered down his window. 

“Has everything been fixed while we’re gone?” 

He meant the carpets, which Forrester had ruined by causing a flood. He still wasn’t able to ask Paul if he did this on purpose or if it was an accident. It didn’t matter. George was angry over much more Forrester did on the trip. 

“Yes, everything is fixed,” the guard said and saw the bandage his boss wore over his forehead. The others looked terrible too. Christina was dirty, as well as their prisoner. “I’ve heard from Ray what happened. Are you all right now?”

“Yes, yes,” Fox tried to calm him, but his words came out a little irritated. He had other things to worry about than to tell people constantly that his injuries weren’t so bad as they seemed. “Is Ray here?”

“Yes, he is, Mister Fox,” the guard replied. 

Ben drove on and stopped in front of the entrance. When Paul climbed out of the car he breathed in and out heavily, resigning himself to enter his apartment again, knowing what awaited him there. Fox pulled on his arm and he followed. In the hallway, Christina left the group and wanted to enter her office. She still felt miserable over what happened and was glad they finally arrived. When George saw her leaving, he stopped. 

“I want to see you and all the others in exactly one hour for a discussion in my office.”

“Yes, sir,” she answered absently and turned the knob. Ben followed her.

Fox glanced up to Paul and continued to bring him to his quarters. He opened the door, ushered Forrester inside and asked him to turn around so he could open the handcuffs. The carpets in all of Paul’s rooms were new and fresh paint was on the wall. Fox was pleased with the job the cleaning contractors had done. His look fell on Forrester again. Paul sat down on his bed, with a sad and desperate expression in his face. He didn’t seem to notice the new things in his rooms. His thoughts were with Scott and Scott’s mother, and if the doctors were able to help his son. George wanted to talk to him, as much as he wanted to talk with the others, but at the moment Forrester didn’t look like he was able to do much talking. One side in Fox told him that it was all Forrester’s own fault that this nightmare happened this morning, and the other side felt compassion. 

“We’ll talk later. Take a shower, and make damn sure you turn off the faucets when you’re done! I’ll send something to eat for you.”

Paul started to pull off his shoes without looking at Fox or even acknowledging what he’d said. When he took off his jacket, George left him. 

Fox’s next trip was down to the building’s basement. It was weeks ago since he had opened the vault. All the way down he wondered how in the world Paul could have managed to steal the spheres undetected. Yes, Forrester was an alien, Paul didn’t deny that any more, but he’d never seen him become invisible. It was possible, however, that Forrester had influenced one of the people here to bring them to him. But why now after eighteen years in captivity? He could have done that long ago. He could have done it the same way he influenced Christina and Ben leaving him the other night on the ranch. Maybe it was even he, George, who’d been influenced and he didn’t remember giving the spheres to Forrester. That thought made him feel hate towards the alien rise again. But would Forrester dare to do that to him, to Christina or any other human being? He had a second thought just then. Did Paul have help? From whom? Christina? He doubted it. Ben? Well, that was possible, but the man wouldn’t dare steal the most precious items on planet Earth from the vault, and Ben didn’t have the access numbers. Only Christina had them and he thought she was careful enough to keep the numbers in a secret place where nobody could find them. 

George opened the vault and was surprised. He saw two spheres in their plastic containers. He took one container, opened it and took the sphere out, examining it for a moment. He pulled one of the two genuine spheres out of his jacket pocket and compared them. One was a little smaller than the other one, but on quick inspection they both looked like ordinary ball bearings. Only when he touched the actual one he couldn’t detect any fingerprints. They disappeared a second later after his sweaty finger printed the pattern on the metal. Fox smiled. _You’re cleverer than I thought, Forrester._ Carefully, he put the authentic sphere in the container. He removed the other fake sphere from its container using his cloth handkerchief to save any fingerprints that might still be on there. After discovering the phony spheres, George was sure Forrester had help stealing the genuine ones. Where did he get the two fake spheres and how did he exchange them so neatly with the others? He didn’t have such pinballs at home, nor didn’t he remember seeing any on the compound. This was a puzzle Fox was determined to solve.

An hour later everyone met in the conference room next to Fox’s office. They’d had time to shower and refresh him or herself. The sad looks remained on Christina’s and Ben’s faces. Before Fox entered the room, Ben told Ray what happened the last days at the ranch, beside the accident with the fire truck.

“Oh that’s so terrible,” Ray said and was then speechless. He really didn’t know what to tell Christina when he saw her fighting to keep from crying again. Ben embraced and comforted her. Fox entered the room just then and sat down at the head of the table. Ben still covered his wife’s hand on the table with his own. 

“Have they told you what happened?” he asked Ray and the man nodded. “Has anyone called the hospital where they brought Scott Hayden?” It was hours ago since the Starman’s son got hurt. The Wylie’s shook their heads no. 

“I’ll drive back as soon as we finish here and see how’s he doing,” Ben said. His glance met his wife’s surprised face.

“Why?”

“Because it’s important to me,” he answered her. “ Do you want to come along?”

“No!” Christina argued. “I’m so sorry I hit Paul’s son and I’ll never forget this day for the rest of my life. It’ll be enough when you call him in a couple of days. You don’t need to drive back. I’m sure Scott will survive. There is no need to visit him only because I was responsible for his injury. Besides, Mrs. Hayden wouldn’t approve you coming back and reminding her with your appearance that it was me, your wife, who almost killed her only child.”

Ben was silent.

Fox asked him, “Have you thought over your decision to quit before we left the ranch?”

“Yes,” Ben said. “I’d lose my pension and all of my benefits if I quit, so I’m retiring too. I’ve served enough years. I’ll inform the general today. I told you why I can’t go on doing the job I have done for the last twenty-two years. The trip and the outcome of it has made it impossible for me to continue.”

Fox couldn’t force Ben to stay. He knew Wylie was right. Ben had the years and could retire if he wanted. If he wasn’t mistaken, he also had enough vacation days left to leave today if he so wished.

“Is this really what you want, Ben?” his wife wanted to know. 

“Yes.”

“All right. Then so be it.” Fox told him, “But before you go I want a report from all of you. And further, I want to know where Forrester got those spheres!” He pulled both fakes out from his pocket and laid them on the table. “When I returned the actual spheres I saw duplicates in the vault. Somebody must have exchanged them and brought the genuine ones to Forrester. Christina, it was you who did this, wasn’t it?”

She was angry at his accusations. “What are you talking about? I haven’t exchanged anything. I saw the damn sphere for the first time in Paul’s hand after he saved the dog. I forgot over the years that they were in the vault. I had no clue what he was able to do with those balls.”

“You’re the only one beside me who had the combination to the vault.” 

“Yes, but I never opened the vault. Not even a single time,” she shouted. “I had the numbers, true, but that was only for emergencies. It was you who said don’t go downstairs, the vault is my business. Besides, I don’t know where to get spheres that look like the original ones.”

“Well, if it wasn’t you, then maybe your husband exchanged them,” Fox accused Ben now.

“Nonsense!” Ben laughed, lying as best as he could. “Leave me out of that. I didn’t even know that the spheres are here on the property.”

“Is that so?” Fox pinned him down. “I think if nobody did it on purpose, Forrester might have influenced one of you to get them for him. I’ll find out when I evaluate the fingerprints on the fake spheres.”

Now Ben got nervous. Fox would find his fingerprints on the balls. He hadn’t thought of wearing gloves when he went down to the vault. 

“Do what you want. I’m leaving now.” 

Ben stood up in a rush, his clumsy body knocking the table, fearful deep inside of what would happen when Fox found his fingerprints. The movement made the steel balls roll and fall down to the floor. The one that rested in the cloth fell to Ben’s feet, the other one to Christina’s. When Ben touched it to pick it up, Fox cried out, fearing for the fingerprints, but it was too late. Harder than it was necessary, Ben put the sphere back on the cloth. He still hadn’t noticed that this act of politeness saved his life and his pension. 

“Here’s your fake sphere, Mister Fox. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m driving home if you don’t mind. All I ask is you to say good bye to Forrester for me.” Christina was surprised why Ben was suddenly so angry. “Mark my words Mr. Fox, once you’re gone and Dr. Mortimer is in charge, I give Forrester a month, maybe two, before he dies.” 

After Ben notified the general of his retirement, and after writing the report, he collected his few possessions he had stored in his wife’s office in a box. Lastly, he handed George back the camera he always used to supervise Jenny and Scott Hayden in California. It was a good and expensive camera, worth more than one thousand dollars. 

“I’m ready, sir,” he said to his former superior.

Fox had asked Ray to run a fingerprint evaluation on the fake spheres and waited for a result. “You were right, Ben. You have enough vacation days left to leave immediately. Did you notify the general?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t know. It’s my decision and I haven’t done anything wrong. I have enough years in the service. He can’t prevent my retirement. Besides, the Hayden’s know now that I supervised and photographed them from time to time. I’m guessing they will be more attentive from now on. Because of what happened today, and in the last couple of days, I just can’t go on doing the job. If you want to supervise them further you have plenty of new and young agents who are eager to do such jobs. Can you understand why I’m retiring? At least a little?”

Fox took a heavy breath and looked in Ben’s eyes. They were sad and tired. Most of all they were disappointed. “I have a feeling, Ben, you’re just leaving because you can’t bear to see Paul being forced to be here any longer.”

“That’s part of it,” Wylie replied. “Why can’t you talk with the general and find a better solution for him? How would you feel if you were in Forrester’s shoes? You wouldn’t like it either. Now it will get even worse. He was outside and tasted freedom again. It’s over completely. I suggested to bring his family here and not bring him to them, but you didn’t listen.”

“No, I didn’t. But if you’re so smart, tell me what you would do if you’d be responsible for him?” George asked him and Ben was dumbstruck for a moment. 

“I would let him go.”

George laughed. “Oh, would you? You have a big heart man, but we can’t. We’re keeping him because he’s a being from another star! Outside are a hundred thousand things that can hurt him. What can we do for example if he dies or get severely hurt in a car accident? Fires – just remember last night – and think of what would happen if people found out that he’s an alien and can work miracles? They would go crazy and he would not have a second of peace. His life would be just like all the stars in Hollywood who are hunted by the paparazzi. And what if another country wants to have him for their purpose? Paul Forrester – the alien – is priceless.”

Ben Wylie thought over Fox’s words. They were a little over the top, but he had to admit they were true. Forrester was priceless and he had to admit keeping him here, his safety was easier to maintain than somewhere else. 

“I’d give him more credit than that, Mr. Fox. I’ll remind you, he survived for just over a year on the run. Paul Forrester, the photographer, was a celebrity of sorts and already famous. This Paul Forrester managed to do quite well assimilating into our culture and hiding his true identity. He held a job off and on, rented apartments, learned to drive, cook, and did everything else required to take care of himself and a son. I wouldn’t forget that. That’s just my opinion,” Ben said. “I can’t change his future. I’m just a clumsy, retired, old agent. Just do me one favor. Make sure that Mortimer doesn’t hurt him. I talked to Paul and he told me how frightened he is of the man.”

“I will. I promise.”

Both men shook hands, this time separating the relationship they had with each other as co-workers.

 

Fox brought Ben to Paul’s rooms and opened the door. 

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk with him alone,” Ben begged. George granted him his wish. He thought he could use the time to take a shower and take off the bandage on his head. 

Ben entered and saw Paul sitting in a chair in his garden, facing the huge wall. The day was hot, but Paul wore his tennis shoes, black jeans, a white shirt and his leather jacket. He looked ready to leave. Ben greeted him and took a seat next to him.

“Do you have any news about Scott?” Paul asked him hopefully.

“No, I’m sorry,” Ben answered. “Christina is at home and will probably call the hospital from there to talk to his doctor. Ask her when she’s back.” 

Paul was disappointed. Ben felt terrible to tell him that he was leaving now, but he had to.

“I gave the general my notice. I thought over my decision to quit and found it better to retire. I’m not so far away from George’s years in the service. I decided to leave today. This means I won’t take any more pictures of Jenny and your son. I can’t bring you any more news from them either. Fox will probably ask for another agent to do my job, but I can’t promise that this new man will sneak photos and news from your family to you.”

“I understand;” Paul answered, but his eyes told Ben he was sad. 

There was a long moment silence between the two men. 

“There is so much more I want to tell you, but I can’t,” Ben continued. He knew here on the patio no kind of microphone was installed. No one could hear them, but he spoke quietly anyway. “Thanks for not letting Fox know I gave you the spheres. He found the doubles I put in the vault and he might find my fingerprints on them or not. I don’t know. I’m facing prison for what I did if he does, Paul, but I didn’t want to leave without telling you how thankful I am that you covered me.”

Forrester nodded and fought against starting to cry, when Ben reminded him of this morning’s discussion.

“Why didn’t you go when I told you to? Why, Paul? I’m asking myself this question the whole day. Your plan for tricking Fox on the way home was stupid. When he handcuffed you, you lost your escape plan.”

“I know!” Paul answered in a raised voice and stood up. “I made a big mistake when Scott and Jenny encouraged me to go with them this morning. You know what happened. They won’t just let me go and live in peace with my family. I thought about that for a moment, but then your wife shot at my son who just wanted to protect me. Even if I could have escaped, they would have hunted me down and I’d end up here again. It would have been only a matter of time. The time for running away is over. Jenny was right. I don’t have enough courage to do that any more. I’m not the same person I was when they caught me all those years ago. This morning the best thing to do was simply surrender.”

Ben and Paul had just said their good-byes and they left the patio when Fox entered the room. They saw he had two spheres in his hands. Ben swallowed. He knew Fox gave Ray the balls for examination. This must mean the search for the fingerprints was over. He waited for Fox to tell him what was found.

“On this one,” George started and showed Ben the ball, “were your fingerprints. It was the one you picked up when it fell to the ground. On the second one were mine and Christina’s prints. Ray said there might be a third fingerprint, but it was too overlapped to say whose it was.”

Silently, Ben exhaled the breath he unconsciously held. “I told you, Mister Fox. I wasn’t at the vault and didn’t steal anything. My fingerprints are only on the ball because I picked it up from the floor.”

“Yes,” Fox replied. “This means that it was indeed you all along,” he said and looked at Paul. He waited for an answer, but Forrester stayed silent. 

“I can’t do much to you for your several acts of disobedience. After all, how can I punish someone who’s already living in solitary confinement in a prison environment? Do you know what I can do? I will take away all of your toys. Your beloved Jacuzzi goes, your flute and paint set, and the photos of course,” he said as he pulled the pictures from the wall. “Ray will collect everything else this evening.”

Those trinkets Paul reasoned he could live without anyway. They were of little value to him, except to offer momentary pleasure, but Fox hurt him the most when he said he’d take away the photos of Jenny and Scott.

“Please don’t do this to him, George. I beg you!” Ben argued. “Hasn’t he suffered enough for his acts? Remember, his son was nearly killed today. How can you be so cruel?”

“I’m not going to let him get away with trying to escape. He’ll get everything back if he behaves himself.” 

George left the room and Ben followed him angrily. Wylie turned and looked at Paul a last time as he stood there in the middle of the room, devastated at the loss of the only reminders he had of his family. Ben wished he’d had enough courage to tell Fox the truth, that he stole the spheres, but he had to think of his wife, his son and his pension. He gritted his teeth, turned and closed the door.

Ben came home and put the box with his personal belongings from the compound on the floor. He heard Christina talking to their son in the living room. His mother-in-law was there too. From the look on the older woman’s face, he knew Christina had filled her in of the events of these past days. John, Ben’s seven-year-old son, stood up and came to his father. He lifted up the child and gave him a kiss. 

“I missed you, Daddy!” the seven-year-old expressed with a young voice. 

“I missed you too, John!” his father said and let him down again. Ben sat down heavily on the sofa.

“Have you called the hospital?” he asked his wife.

“Yes, I talked to the doctor who conducted the operation. He said Scott went through surgery fine, but of course it is too early to say if the operation was a success.”

“Good,” he answered, somehow tired.

Christina came to his side and sat down next to him. “George called me and informed me of the result regarding the fingerprints.”

“I told you I didn’t do anything, but he punished Paul for everything.” He told her what Fox said he would do.

“I’ll talk to him if it’s necessary. I agree Paul’s suffered enough already, but on the other hand, he should face the consequences of his actions. He stole the spheres and… “

Christina’s mother overheard the discussion and asked, “What spheres?”

Christina was irritated at being careless about speaking of the spheres in front of her and the child.

“They’re valuable spheres. The prisoner I care for stole them.” She hoped her mother was satisfied with her answer. She wasn’t, but she didn’t ask further. Christina stood up and went in the kitchen and Ben followed her. Being in the kitchen, he poured himself a glass of orange juice out of the bottle from the refrigerator. 

“What is it you wanted to say?” he finally asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Paul stole the spheres, but he won’t understand his actions were wrong if nobody punishes him for it. I still can’t believe it was our peaceful Paul who went down to the vault and stole them like a criminal! He even exchanged them for duplicates. From where he got those, I really don’t know. He had them all the time and we didn’t notice. I can’t believe that he tricked us either when we wanted to take him back to the motel.”

“I’ll tell you why he did those things,” Ben said angrily. “The man is desperate. I would have done the same thing in his shoes.”

Christina knew he was somehow right. There wasn’t anything more to say. She wanted to leave the room, but Ben held her back. “What is it?”

“Christina, I’m driving back to California, tonight. I need to see Mrs. Hayden and tell her she must come and see Paul. The two separated in an open discussion. I think she can help him in accepting his fate.”

She didn’t like what he wanted to do. “Well, Ben, I can’t stop you. Do what you think you have to do, but I want to let you know that I need you too. Do you know how I feel? Have you ever shot somebody in your career? I tell you this: it’s awful. I’m never going to touch a gun again if it isn’t absolutely necessary. I’ll have to live the rest of my life knowing I almost took away someone else’s.” 

With these bitter words she left the room and put on a false smile when she saw her mother and son in the living room, playing with Lego blocks.

 

Christina heard Ben leaving. He left the family without any good-bye. 

“Where is he going?” her mother asked, wondering why he left them and didn’t say where he headed to.

“He’s driving back to California to see the prisoner’s family to talk with them. Don’t worry. He’ll be back tomorrow.”

Deep inside Christina had a sudden and strange feeling, that Ben would not return tomorrow or the day after tomorrow either. The events of the last days really affected him deeply. She knew he sometimes asked himself what he had worked for in his whole life. He’d told her he felt like he hadn’t accomplished anything. 

That evening she drove back to the research center, leaving her son in her mother’s care again. She wanted to spend more time with her child, but her schedule said that she had the night shift today. Like always, she saw a light in Fox’s quarters, when she headed to her office and put on her medical coat. She didn’t want to talk to Mr. Fox now. In fact she was glad she could talk with Paul alone. Absently, she opened the chain of the door with her key and pressed the four-number-combination into the digital lock, as she had done it a thousand times before. She glanced at her watch. It was 9:30 PM. Paul was preparing himself for bed right now. They usually had a short talk over the events of the day and she left him around 10 PM. The rest of the shift she spent until midnight on reports and emails and went to bed herself after that. Christina went inside and closed the door. She smelled the new carpets and paint for the first time. Because it was totally dark in the room, she didn’t see how they looked, but the feeling walking on the new carpet was great. She noticed Paul sitting outside in the patio and she approached him. Paul was startled when she came out of the doorway. He was deep in thought and didn’t hear anyone approaching. He exhaled and relaxed when he saw Ben’s wife. Christina looked around and saw the Jacuzzi had been drained. Normally the bath was lighted and she caught herself sometimes wanting to enjoy the water too. Then she noticed Paul’s state of dress. He still wore the same clothes he had on when they took the trip, including the leather jacket. She bit her tongue and didn’t ask where he wanted to go dressed like that. He looked ready to tell her good-bye and leave any minute. Instead of asking him dumb questions, she grabbed the chair and sat down opposite him. 

“I called the hospital,” she started and Paul got attentive. “Scott came out of the surgery fine, although, it is too early to say anything about his shoulder. I hope they were able to fix everything.”

Paul was indeed happy to hear that. “I hope that too.”

“Paul, Ben told me everything,” she said. He didn’t know what she meant and looked confused. She continued, “He described your punishment and the fingerprints on the spheres.” Paul drew in air to tell her something, but she spoke up first. “I know why you did what you did. You don’t need to explain. I’m only disappointed that you lied to me. Don’t ever do this to me again. You tricked me and Ben to stay another night on the ranch. I thought our relationship was more than doctor and patient. I thought we were sort of friends. Really, I thought that. I won’t help you this time, Paul. If Fox wants to punish you for what you did, he should. There’s not much he can do to you anyway.”

For the first time in years, he took her hand and she felt his powerful energy rushing into it. Surprised over the act, she looked in his sparkling eyes. She couldn’t see the deep blue color, but they glistened in the dark. 

“I am your friend,” he assured her. “I’m sorry this all happened, but when I heard George Fox say he wanted to bring me to Jenny, I had to do something. Jenny and Scott talked me into escaping on the way back, but you made me understand that I don’t have a chance to run. Running is not the answer. I know that now.” 

“You must hate me for nearly killing your son,” she said. “Believe me, I feel terrible about that. I’m a doctor and it was me who pulled the trigger. I only saw you leaving. George didn’t do anything to stop you. I don’t know, maybe he couldn’t. It was my duty to make you understand we won’t tolerate your absurd idea. I was only going to wound you in the leg. Then suddenly Scott was in the way and Fox pushed my gun away. My finger was still on the trigger and I fired. God, Paul, I’m so sorry. I’ll have to live with this guilty feeling for the rest of my life. If Scott’s shoulder won’t heal all the way, it was me who made an invalid out of him.” Not waiting for his response, she pulled her hand away, stood up and turned around. 

“I will be honest, Christina,” Paul answered. “One part of me dislikes and fears you for what you did. It disturbs me to hear you say just now you intended to hurt me, but another part is glad you were there and helped my son with your medical education. I hope you learned your lesson, as much as I learned mine.” He stood up and faced her. “I’m guilty about what happened as much as you are. I should have never thought I simply could go with Scott. That was naive. He paid for this lesson as much as we’re paying living with our guilt.” 

The next morning Christina was in her private bathroom, next to the room she used for sleeping when she had night duty in the research center. She just finished applying her make up and closed the lipstick. The phone rang and she went to answer it.

“Hello?” 

“It’s me, Christina.”

It was Ben.

“Oh hello, how are you? How’s Scott and the others?” 

“I’ve seen him,” Ben told her. “They put him on pain medicine past night. His mother was with him the whole night. I didn’t talk to her much though, but I can tell you she looked just as bad as Scott did.”

“I’m sorry,” Christina answered. She pitied the other woman. If it were her son she would probably feel the same as Jenny did now. “Ben, why are you telling me this? Are you trying to make me feel guiltier than I already am?”

“No, I just wanted to let you know. And I need to tell you something else.” There was a certain tone in his voice she didn’t like. Ben paused a couple of seconds before he told her, “I’m not coming back today. I’ve been talking to Richard Hayward and he offered me Scott’s job. I accepted.”

Christina had to sit down. What in the world happened to her husband in the past days?

“Excuse me, Ben,” she threatened him, “May I remind you that you have a wife in Nevada and a seven-year-old son. I need you! He needs you! I can’t care for John alone and I can’t ask my mother to baby-sit him constantly. He’s your child too! Do you expect me to bring him to work when it is your turn to be with him? Are you out of your mind, Ben? What were you thinking when you accepted the job?”

“I just need distance from everything,” he explained. “I can’t come back. Too much has happened. I need to think and I hope it won’t take long before I can come back.”

After that, Christina cried on the phone, “You don’t know anything about working with horses. Come back to me, Ben Wylie. I’m your wife. You’re punishing me for my act yesterday leaving me all alone. What happened to your promise to stay with me in bad times too? How can you do this to me?”

Ben felt guilty when he heard her reaction and her crying. “I’ll send you the money for my share regarding John and our house. You can pay a full time babysitter for John’s daycare while I’m gone. I need to do this, Christina. It will be good for both of us. It’s not because I want to punish you for what you did yesterday. It was an accident, but this accident will probably turn a young man into a cripple.”

“You don’t know yet if Scott will be a cripple. It was my job, Ben, to stop him,” she retorted to the accusation. “You wouldn’t stop him, Fox couldn’t. I had no choice. I had to. How many more times must I tell you that I’m very sorry for what happened, but I can’t change it now. I must face it, Paul must, and you too.”

“I’ll call you later, Christina. Our discussion isn’t leading anywhere. I didn’t expect you’d understand my motives, but I will stay here and take this job.”

“All right, Ben. Take the job,” she responded, angry now. “But don’t think that you can come back in a couple of weeks and continue the partnership we had all these years. If you don’t come back today I’m filing for a separation.”

She fought with the last weapons she had against him. There was a long time silence on the line as Ben thought over her threat. To her surprise he didn’t react at all how she expected.

“If you think this is necessary I can’t stop you. I’m staying.”

###    
**Chapter 2**  


The next days, Fox was busy cleaning out his quarters and his office. He talked to Paul less than usual during those days, partly because he still was angry with him and partly because he had so much to organize. Forrester only asked him how his son was doing. George told him the general had approved the visiting agreement and the papers with the notification had been sent to Jenny, Scott and Richard Hayward. The question how Scott was doing he couldn’t answer yet. He wanted to know that too. Since Ben had retired, the general hadn’t sent a replacement for the job yet. The new agent was expected to bring news from California in the next couple of days.

Two weeks had passed since Paul’s adventure in Solvang and it was Sunday, George Fox’s last day in the research center and probably the first day Paul could hope for visitors. He didn’t know if they would come or not. Scott might be too weak to travel and Jenny too busy caring for him. He doubted Richard would visit him alone. When Paul went outside in his garden he heard a vehicle coming. A short time later he heard voices from men carrying furniture in Fox’s quarters. From what he could hear, the moving crew brought Mortimer’s things. An icy chill ran down his spine. The day he was so frightened of was finally here.

The door to Paul’s quarters opened and Forrester turned around. For a second he hoped a face from his family would appear in the doorframe, but it was only Fox. The agent pushed a table with wheels the moving crew was using for the furniture into the room. On top of the table was a medium-sized aquarium with little fishes and lots of aquatic plants inside. The agent maneuvered the table to the bureau he brought Forrester days ago. Fox asked him to help him lift the aquarium onto the bureau. At last George connected the power to the pump and put the fish food next to the glass aquarium. 

“I don’t want to take the fishes with me, so I thought you might enjoy them.”

Paul smiled and bent down to watch his new pets. He touched his finger to the glass when a small fish came close to him.

“Thank you, Mister Fox. It’s nice to have pets. At least I’m not all alone from now on.”

George looked in the alien’s striking eyes. “Make sure you clean the aquarium every fourteen days or so. Ask Christina how it is done. You just need to drain the water two thirds of the way down and clean the glass. You don’t need to do more. I have enough fish food for the next couple of months.” 

Both looked at each other. Paul felt the agent wanted to tell him something. There was no more anger in Fox’s eyes. Somehow, Paul received indications of someone who must leave, but didn’t want to. He also felt that Fox had an uneasy feeling about what would happen when he was gone. Yes, it was worry over a pet he had to leave behind. 

“I will leave in an hour, Paul. Mortimer is already in the building. I talked with him one more time about how I expect him to treat you. He assured me he wouldn’t harm you.”

“But you don’t trust him, do you?” Forrester asked, concerned.

Fox shrugged. “What do you want me to say? I don’t know. The general informed him about what happened two weeks ago. He told me I was acting totally irresponsible when I drove you out. Mortimer is right, but he doesn’t understand how difficult it was sometimes to keep you, my prisoner, healthy and busy. He doesn’t know anything of what we have done the last eighteen years.”

Paul could hear that Fox didn’t like his successor. He changed the topic. “Have you heard anything from my family? Do they have the papers which will allow them to visit me?” 

“Yes, they have received the papers, but I haven’t heard from them at all. Washington sent a new agent to supervise Mrs. Hayden and your son. We’re worried.”

“Why?” 

“Because your son disappeared in between the few days since Wylie left and the new agent took over his job. He was in the hospital and 10 days later he vanished. Do you know anything about it?”

Paul knew what this meant. Scott made a wise decision to leave the country. That was probably the reason why he was suddenly missing. “No,” he answered. 

Fox smiled. He knew Forrester knew more about Scott’s absence than he wanted to tell him. “My guess is that he has left the country out of fear. I know that Mrs. Hayden is still on Hayward’s ranch. I don’t know why she didn’t come to visit you today.”

“I think she’s still angry with me because I surrendered,” Paul told him.

“Yes, but I thought she loves you. If I loved someone, as much as she claims to love you, I’d accept the circumstances and try to live with it.”

“I’m sure she will come and see me soon. Will you come to see me?”

The agent laughed. “I thought you’re happy to get rid of me. Why do you want me to visit you?”

“Because I’ll miss you.”

“Oh boy!” George giggled again and smiled. Then he admitted, “I don’t know if I’ll miss you. You didn’t make it easy for me most of the time. When I think what you did two weeks ago…. I told Christina you look like a lamb, but you can be a lion too. You’re using your powers whenever you want. I still don’t know what you’re thinking of us humans. You probably think we’re easy to control.”

“No, I’m not thinking that at all,” Paul replied. “With the most humans I had a good outcome.”

“At least when they did what you wanted.”

“I did what I did two weeks ago out of love,“ Forrester said. “You would have done the same thing. Or am I forbidden to love?” 

Fox didn’t answer his question. Instead he smiled when he saw how Paul reacted to his accusations. 

“You know what? Perhaps I’ll miss you too. My God, if someone had told me I’d miss you twenty years ago, I would have laughed at him. It’s funny how people develop a bond with each other only by spending time together whether they like each other or not. The next few weeks I can’t come to see you though. I’ll be busy finding a new apartment. I’ll probably move back to Washington. I don’t know. I wanted to start my retirement with a long vacation. Besides, I must check to see if Mrs. Hayden has pulled the book. If she didn’t, I will. I told her that when we left the ranch. I haven’t forgotten my promise.”

After that, Fox wanted to leave. He was surprised how hard it was to do it. Today he was in the mood to stay all afternoon in this room. 

“Good-bye, Paul Forrester,” he said finally and held out his hand to shake. Paul took it. 

“Good-bye, Mister Fox. I wish you a happy retirement.”

Fox felt uneasy. What could he wish him? Live a long and happy life? He suspected Paul would do neither. He said nothing and left. 

 

Paul woke up from a nightmare. He re-lived in his dreams the days he spent with his family in Solvang. The dream always ended when he heard the gunshot, almost killing his only child. He stared at the two photos he had gotten back the day Fox left him. 

“I’m sorry, Jenny. You’re right. They have browbeaten me, and I am afraid.” 

He was scared now more than ever. George Fox had officially retired as of yesterday. Doctor Mortimer was in charge. Ben was gone. He’d retired too. Christina, although she had shaken his faith in her when she took aim at him and shot Scott by mistake, was all he had left. 

 

Dr. Mortimer seemed to be nice on the outside, but Paul was cautious towards him. He never told him things beyond the answers he needed and demanded. Fox’s successor on the other hand tried everything to win Paul’s trust. He told him everything about himself, that he was divorced and had two daughters, the younger one in high school, the older one in college. They lived in a newly built town close to Las Vegas. He told him he was surprised when the military contacted him and offered him the leadership of this facility. He was much more surprised when he was informed who or what he should watch and protect. Mortimer read everything, which was written down in the files of Paul and his history. He was amazed how much information there was.

 

The weeks passed by. October, November. Paul waited every Sunday for a visit from Jenny or Richard. He knew Scott was out of the country. One side in him was glad his son was safe, but the other side was terribly sad that he probably would never see Scott again. But why didn’t the others come to see him? Fox granted both Jenny and Richard permission. Was Jenny still angry because he hadn’t the guts to fight, to run, and surrendered instead? Did she blame him for Scott’s faith? Did she stay away because she still loved him and leaving him would hurt her too much? He didn’t know. He only knew that he felt lonely and abandoned.

###    
**Chapter 3**  


It was on a chilly December day when Dr. Mortimer surprised Christina during the usual Monday discussion with his newest task for her. She too, didn’t like her new boss very much. Officially she couldn’t say anything against him. He always acted correctly as a leader, but she had the impression that one second he was nice and she could talk with him about everything, and the next second, she was afraid Mortimer would use her openness against her. _The man is like a snake_ , she thought. She had enough to worry about in her private life. Her husband had left her. Ben didn’t come back one single time in the past two months. He was even too much of a coward to call his son on the phone and ask how he was. John asked her every day when his dad would return. The child missed his father so much. Christina never lied to her son. She told him why his dad was in California. It was hard for the child to understand his father’s motives, but it was much harder to understand why his father never came to see him. It was like John and Christina didn’t exist for Ben any more.

“From today on, I want a daily blood examination of the alien,” the doctor said and Christina woke up from her thoughts of Ben.

“Excuse me,” she asked, “I beg your pardon?”

“You’re lately daydreaming, ma’am,” he reminded her like a teacher would remind a girl drifting off in class. “I said from today on I want a blood test of the alien before he has breakfast.”

She still didn’t understand what he meant. “You mean a daily blood test? For what? That’s not necessary.”

“It is necessary!” the doctor reminded her in a tone that she knew he was her boss. “Paul is not feeling well. He’s daydreaming all day, just as you are lately. Obviously you’re not able to keep him occupied. He’s lost five pounds in the last two weeks. It seems to me that you don’t care about that. If this continues it will lead to serious health problems. Haven’t you noticed how slim he’s gotten?”

The female doctor was so shocked how he talked to her, that momentarily she couldn’t give him an answer. Then a fire of anger shot through her veins.

“Of course I noticed, Mister Mortimer,” she replied in the same tone he used on her, “But what should I do? Feed him like a baby? It’s natural to lose weight in his case. He’s totally isolated. Since he was outside for the trip it’s gotten even worse. He’s finally able to sleep at night without drugs, but he’s totally restless during the day. I can’t cheer him up 24 hours a day, Doctor! I have a child at home. Why don’t you try to talk to him about the problems we’re facing?”

He didn’t like how she responded to him and how she questioned his authority. “I tried, but he doesn’t like me. It’s you who he considers a friend. It’s Mr. Fox’s fault he’s in this condition. Now I’m the one who’s going pay for his stupidity! Taking the alien outside to see his family,” he said in an exaggerated tone. “No wonder he’s depressed more than before. I thought Fox granted them visitation rights. Why don’t they come to see him?”

“I don’t know why.”

“Have to talked to your husband? What is he saying about it?”

“I haven’t seen or heard from him since the events happened in September,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Besides I don’t think that this is your business.”

“The Hayden’s are my business too, Mrs. Wylie. And you know what? Agent Miller hasn’t been able to locate Paul’s son. Everyone says he went on a long vacation. The truth is his mother got him out of the country. He can be anywhere if he’s living under an assumed name.”

“But sir, Scott Hayden is not important for us. Paul is.”

Doctor Mortimer couldn’t, or didn’t want to answer that. He marked the first discussion point on his paper as being talked through. 

“Do you have any more questions about your new task, Mrs. Wylie?” 

Christina had no more arguments. “No, sir.” If he wanted to do a daily blood test on Paul, then she would do it. 

 

Forrester hoped every Sunday that Jenny or Richard would visit him. Two full months passed since he’d seen them. Slowly he lost hope. What happened to them? What happened to Jenny? Didn’t she love him any more? Why didn’t she write him when she couldn’t visit him for some reason? 

Paul felt so alone, much more than all the years previous. Before this all happened, they didn’t know that he had to live here in isolation, but now that they knew, nothing changed for him. _I’m alone and forgotten._ That hurt. One time he wrote Jenny a letter. Christina read it before she posted it for him. Basically the letter asked why she didn’t want to come see him. Christina didn’t understand it either, but she was kind enough to send it for him. Even after mailing the letter, everything stayed the same. There was no answer from Jenny, and no visits.

 

Christina came into Forrester’s room with his breakfast on a tray. It was 8 AM. Paul was already up, washed, dressed, shaved and waiting for her. Mortimer had equipped his room with a television connected to a huge satellite dish, which was mounted on the roof of the building. Fox allowed him to watch TV only when the agent thought it was good for him. Mortimer on the other hand was more generous. He outfitted his room with a lot of other stuff, hoping to buy Paul’s friendship and trust with these luxuries. It didn’t work. Paul was sitting in front of the TV set and watched a channel where people could order items by calling a certain telephone number. The woman on the television advertised a pill, which made overweight people slim in a short time. No one had to go hungry, the pill drew the calories out of the food. Paul watched with interest and listened to the advertisement, even though he wasn’t allowed a telephone to place a call and order. 

Christina smiled when she saw how interested he was in the silly program. The home shopping channel was lately his favorite. 

“Good morning, how are you?” she asked and hoped to get his attention. It worked. He returned her greeting, stood up, turned off the TV and sat down at the table where he usually ate his first meal of the day. She informed him about Dr. Mortimer’s newest orders.

“Why does he want to take my blood each morning? Is there something wrong with it? Don’t you think he exaggerates a little?” he asked, not understanding what this was all about.

“I’m sorry. He wants to take your blood every morning to check your chemistry. He is, and I am too, a little worried about you. He thinks your organs may have developed an illness. What other reason do you have why you lost weight again?”

He shrugged. Paul guessed it came from the stresses he suffered the last couple of months. He tried to eat normally, but he too had noticed that he had to wear smaller jeans.

“Go to the bed,” she ordered and gently pushed him there. “And take off that jacket! For God’s sake, why do you constantly wear it since Mr. Fox gave it to you? It’s not necessary to wear it inside. You must be sweating in it.”

“It’s the only thing I have which connects me to my past, to the time before I was forced to live as your prisoner.”

She hated when he started on this theme. “I’m not the one to blame. Blame someone else, okay? I just work here. By the way, I hate it too how they keep you isolated, but at the moment the general and Dr. Mortimer have the opinion that there is no other way.”

He took off the jacket and sat down when he saw she readied the syringe. He glanced up and met her gaze. “I wish there was.”

“You better lay down, Paul. I don’t want you to fall.”

He did what she proposed and held still when she pulled up his sleeve. He didn’t watch the procedure any more. His gaze was fixed to Jenny’s photo opposite his bed on the wall. When she inserted the needle in his vein, he flinched, but didn’t look away from Jenny’s photo for a second.

“Hold still. I’ll be finished in a minute.”

He thought that the doctor would soon suck him dry and told her so.

She chuckled. “Don’t worry. Your body can replace this amount every day easily. It’s just enough to see how your chemistry develops. Perhaps there really is something making you sick.”

Paul smiled and looked into her eyes. She returned the smile and stroked his hair off his forehead. She noticed he looked a little pale. 

To her surprise, he suddenly asked, “Have you heard from Ben lately?”

She drew her hand away. “He’s called John a couple of times. I only know that he works now for Richard Hayward. I’ve told you that. What else do you want to know?”

“Why don’t you drive to California to see him? Don’t you want to see him any more?”

“Of course I do, but he’s the one who left me, not the other way around,” she said. “Besides, he told John he’ll be back for Christmas. Maybe he’ll stay then. I don’t know. A lot of things happened, Paul. I’m hurt. It’s not easy for me and for John either. He really misses his father.” 

“Can I ask you something else, Christina?”

“Yes?”

“Why do you think Jenny doesn’t come to see me?”

She knew he would ask her this question. He had asked her the same question several times, but she still had the same answer. “I’m sorry, Paul. I don’t know why. Something must have happened, otherwise she would have written to you. I have asked Ben when he called John, what’s the matter with Jenny Hayden and why hasn’t she answered your letter.”

Immediately he was very attentive and sat up. “What did he say?” he asked, frightened and hopeful at the same time.

“He said,” she confessed, lowering her gaze, “He said….”

“What?” he asked again, anxious.

“He said she has health problems. Serious health problems.” She looked up into his troubled eyes. “I think there’s more he didn’t want to tell me. Maybe he doesn’t know what her problems are.”

Paul dropped his shoulders. “That’s why she didn’t come to see me. Can you find out what’s wrong with her?” 

“I’ll try.” She stroked the side of his head, offering him small comfort and stood up. When she saw how this information had affected him, she wished she hadn’t given him the news.

 

The next two weeks passed with no special occurrences. After a while, Paul began to despise what Christina had to do to him every morning. The result of the blood tests didn’t show any indication of health problems. Everything was fine according to medical opinions. Paul tried to eat everything they offered him on the plate so as not to lose any more weight. It worked, but Mortimer still wasn’t satisfied. He still forced Christina to take his blood for a daily test. Soon, Paul’s left and right arm looked like a drug addict’s with needle track marks. When nobody was in his room, she and Dr. Mortimer discovered that Paul began to talk to the photos of his family. At first they wondered whom he spoke to until they found out that it was the pictures on the wall. Now Dr. Mortimer was really worried. 

“Has he ever done this before?” he asked Christina, really shocked over Paul’s newest psychic development.

“No, not that I remember. Do you want me to talk to him about this?”

Her boss looked up to her from his chair in his office. “No, don’t. Not yet. I’ll talk to the general first.”

 

Christina left work early. It was the 24th of December. Christmas Eve. She was worried over what they had discovered today. _He really must feel lonely when he starts to talk to someone on a picture._ She knew he felt abandoned, but she didn’t know how much he really missed Jenny. She wondered what Dr. Mortimer would do about it. He would probably force her to give him pills again for his depression, which obviously came back. She deeply inhaled the chilly air in her car and exhaled. She felt so sorry for Paul. The worst thing was she couldn’t help him. _What in the world happened to Mrs. Hayden?_ If she would show up just once to visit him, he wouldn’t talk to her picture any more. Maybe Jenny didn’t love Paul any more. Maybe Ben didn’t tell her the truth and her illness was only an excuse. 

John waited at home for his father. The two phoned with each other the other day and Ben confirmed he was coming. John was as excited as a seven-year-old could be when he knew his father was finally coming home. Christina was excited too. Maybe Ben had enough of this dirty work. Maybe he had thought enough over his life. Perhaps he finally saw where he belonged. Fathers belonged to their family. The lights on the tree were lit and the food was waiting in the oven when the bell finally rang. John dashed to the door before his mother could warn him to slow down. The boy opened it. There Ben stood. Finally. A big flower bouquet was in his right hand, and at his feet a pile of wrapped presents. John dived into his arms and cried and kissed his cheeks full of joy. With his free hand he pulled the boy’s face to his and kissed him, then hugged him. His eyes were wet when the two looked at each other. 

“Will you stay, Dad?” was the boy’s first question. His father didn’t answer him; instead he kissed him once more and lowered him to the ground. 

“Hello Christina. You look beautiful,” he greeted his wife. He remembered the flower bouquet in his hand and handed it to her. “For you.”

She took it and he came closer to her. The two looked in each other’s eyes. After a long time, he dared to hug and finally kiss her. When they kissed she enjoyed what she missed the last two months. Sensitive as she was, tears ran down her face. When the kiss ended and Ben saw her tears, he teased her, “If I would have known you two miss me so much I would have come sooner!” 

Christina laughed a little and wiped her eyes dry with her sleeve. At the moment she felt like walking on clouds. Her husband was finally home again.

They celebrated Christmas together. The family ate and Ben told them of his new job. John was very curious. There was a sad moment when Ben announced that he wouldn’t stay after the holidays. He explained that he really liked his work. He invited both of them to come and see him. Christina promised her son they’d visit Ben soon in California, but Ben heard in her tone that she only said it to calm John down. When the presents were opened and Ben took John to bed as he always did before he accepted the job in another state, he came into the kitchen where Christina cleaned up the dishes and put everything in the dishwasher.

“He’s asleep now,” he announced. She turned on the machine and came to him. She felt the need to tell him her feelings. “I missed you so much, Ben!” Christina threw her arms around him and kissed him. “Why do you have to go back? Please don’t go. Stay.”

“You can come anytime to see me. Richard needs me there. And I really like ranching.”

Again, she kissed him and looked into his eyes. Ben had changed. His hair was longer and he looked younger in his new clothes. Now he really was the cowboy he always wanted to be.

“How’s Paul?” 

“Paul’s taken it hard when nobody cares for him any more. How’s Jenny?” she countered.

“It’s difficult,” Ben started. “Jenny refused to see him. She’s too weak to travel. Since Scott is gone, she developed serious problems with her stomach. She told me she had this all her life, but since last September it came back worse than ever. She might develop cancer of the stomach. I don’t know much more. She didn’t trust me much in the beginning. Richard is mostly caring for her. He asked her to live in his house, but she refused. If she doesn’t get her strength back, she’ll be forced to leave her house.” 

“Did she receive the letter Paul sent her?”

“Richard never gave it to her,” he confessed. “He was afraid it would hurt her too much.”

Christina leaned her head into his chest. “I can’t tell him that. Oh Ben, why must it be that way? Do you know what happened to Scott?”

“Scott is gone. Richard tells everyone who asks he went on a long vacation.”

“We know that much. What’s the truth?”

“Richard and Jenny made a big secret out of Scott’s leaving. I think they arranged that he got a new identity. They never told me. Even Richard is not talking about Scott any more. I think they got him out of the country somehow. I just put two and two together. Jenny had to sell her car and I think Richard gave him money too. After Scott came out of the hospital he suddenly disappeared.”

“Do you know anything about his injury?”

“Well, not much. He should have started therapy after his stay in the hospital, but before it started he left. I think his arm will never be as it was before. But as I told you, no one is talking any more about him. Sometimes I feel that Scott’s leaving is the cause of Jenny’s illness, and not so much knowing that Paul has to live here. Christina?”

“Yes, what is it?” 

“There’s more. Did you know Fox showed up one time? He pulled Jenny’s book.”

“I know,” she replied. “He said he would if she refused.”

“Well, there’s more. How should I explain this? Fox lives in Santa Barbara. Exactly one month after he warned Jenny to pull the book he went to the lady who owns the publishing house and ordered her to take them off the shelf.”

“And?” Now she was curious how he would continue the story.

“The lady did it. I mean he was from the government. 

She giggled. The book was based on a true story. “And?”

“It came to a big fight between Fox and this lady. In the end she pulled it. But you know what?”

“What?” 

“During the fight over the book the two discovered they really like each other. They’re dating.”

Christina smiled and chuckled. Then she smiled again. She just imagined her former boss having a girl friend. 

“What can I say?” she said, happy that George was so happy. “I’m glad for him. He always wanted a partner in his life.”

When Ben still had a dark look, she asked, “Aren’t you happy about it?”

“I am,” he said. “I just wish it could be someone else. The lady, Silvia Travis, was Jenny’s best friend. You can imagine how much it hurt her when she heard that her book was being pulled and her best friend’s dating her greatest enemy.”

Ben and Christina talked some more about Paul. She told him how sad he was why nobody visited him. She told him how Dr. Mortimer tried to buy Paul’s friendship and trust with satellite TV and other trinkets. Mostly she complained over Dr. Mortimer bossing her around and treating her sometimes as still being wet behind the ears. He got the impression she hated this man. At least he was somehow happy that Christina’s new boss kept his word and treated Paul well. 

Christina cuddled up in Ben’s arms on the sofa in front of the beautiful tree her father bought them.

“Are you tired, honey?” She looked up and was surprised he still called her that. “Let’s go to bed. Do you want me to sleep on the couch?”

“Why? We’re still married. I’m very happy you came home, Ben Wylie. I only wished you’d stay. I hated you when you left, but I must confess I still love you.”

“Thank you. I love you too,” he said and they kissed.

“Okay, let’s go upstairs,” he answered and both left for the bedroom.

 

The holidays passed and Ben packed to leave Christina and their son again. They had spent three beautiful days as a family, but as he said in the beginning, he couldn’t and didn’t want to quit his new job. 

They stood next to his car and John hung onto his neck, not wanting to let him go. Ben loved his son and it was hard to leave him.

“Hey John, I love you too. You can come visit me any time, okay? I’ll teach you how to ride a horse.” 

The boy nodded and smiled, excited at the thought of learning to ride. Then his father put him on the ground again.

“Will you come see me?” he asked his wife. She was cool over his leaving and merely shrugged.

“We’ll see,” she replied and pulled John closer to her. “If we visit you regularly, you’ll get the impression it’s okay for us that you accepted this job offer. You have enough pension to feed us all, Ben. You don’t need this job. I hope you know that I still don’t understand why the job is more important to you than we are.”

He looked at her angry eyes. He didn’t want to start a fight on the street with her over this. 

“I have to go. I’ll talk to Jenny about seeing Paul, okay?”

Christina nodded. She looked down at the ground, because her eyes were misty and she didn’t want him to see her tears. Ben kissed her on the forehead. This time Christina didn’t return the kiss. Ben climbed in the car, started the engine and drove away. When the car was out of sight, John ran crying into the house, the thrill of learning to ride a horse forgotten. 

_I hate you for that, Ben Wylie. You have no idea what you’re doing to your son and how much he really loves you!_ she raged in her thoughts and followed John inside.

 

After the holidays, Christina told Paul what Ben had told her. She left out the part with Fox and Jenny’s best friend. It was hard enough on him when he heard Jenny was so sick that she would soon need someone else’s care. Paul looked at the new photo of Jenny, Scott and Richard, Christina had given him for Christmas. Christina ordered a copy of the married couple at a photographer in the town Hayward lived. At first she thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to give him a copy of a wedding picture which was over seven years old and showed another man at Jenny’s side instead of Paul, but since Scott was in the picture too, she reconsidered the idea. Paul and Richard liked each other and the photo was really a very nice one. 

“This is all my fault,” Paul said. “My return turned their life into a nightmare. My son is gone, perhaps an invalid. I’m never going see him again. My girl is sick and despaired. She lost everything because of me. No wonder she refused to see me.”

Christina sat beside him and felt the need to give him a hug. 

“I talked to Ben and begged him to talk to Jenny about seeing you. I doubt that Dr. Mortimer will allow you to go see her, you know.”

She said her last sentence in a teasing voice and for a second she thought she could lighten his mood. 

“No, I don’t think he would,” he replied seriously. “Christina, sometimes I want to die. To go home you know.”

His words piqued her attention. “I thought you couldn’t go home. You once told me you don’t have enough energy yet to separate your self from the body. You would die when you start the process.”

He stood up to face the window. “Yes, I would. Maybe that’s all that’s left for me. Perhaps Scott was right. This world is no place for a dreamer.”

Christina stood up as well. At the moment she didn’t pity him as she usually did. “Paul, I can’t lie down and simply ‘check out’ the way you can. I have to stay and face life. It wasn’t easy for me in the last months either. I’m sorry that things turned out the way they did for you, but see it as a new experience. Life can’t always be sunny. Sometimes you have the feeling you swim through a fog with no end. That’s called living.”

###    
**Chapter 4**  


It was the end of January when Christina waited impatiently in her office. She just used her private bathroom and took a pregnancy test. Now she had to wait for five minutes until the test yielded its result. It could be that missing her period occurred because of other reasons. Honestly, she didn’t think of the most natural reason. Of course, that could be the reason too. She was with a man during her last fertile days. It was Christmas with her husband. Almost eight years ago they needed the help of a specialist to conceive their son, John. It took five years, and swallowing a lot of pills for Christina to get pregnant the first time. After John was born, they never took any precautions against a further pregnancy and until now it was never necessary. Why should it happen naturally now? _No, there must be another reason_ , she thought, thinking that maybe some hormones weren’t working the way they should, or she developed a tumor in her reproductive organs. Was she in menopause? She was going to turn 43 this year. Sometimes menopause starts early and she didn’t feel pregnant at all. Suddenly she remembered the time. The test would indicate the result now. She took the stick in her hands and compared the result with the description on the back of the box. 

“Oh Ben,” she said, uncertain if she should start crying out of joy or anger, “You won’t believe it, but this time you took good aim!”

At first, she kept her sweet secret to herself. She didn’t tell anyone, not her parents, or even Ben. She didn’t want him to know. He would come back and she didn’t want him to because of that. She wanted him to come back because he loved her and John. Lastly, she denied telling John he’s going to have a playmate soon. 

Compared to her new strength, Paul felt terrible. He began living in his own world. Sometimes when he couldn’t sleep, he talked to the picture of Jenny that Christina gave him, and to the other photos and his fishes. Still, no one visited him. Nobody wrote to him. He was worried over Jenny’s illness and he was worried what happened to his son. 

It was the next Monday when Paul laid down on the bed to allow Christina to take his blood. She got angry when she saw his arms. 

“I hate Mortimer for this, you know!” she said heatedly and pulled off an old bandage. “I don’t know where I should insert the needle any more. The worst thing is that this is totally unnecessary. Your blood sugar level is fine. You don’t have a problem with your pancreas. You’re not diabetic, but you lost all the weight you were able to gain during the holidays, didn’t you?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“Oh Paul!” she answered despaired. “What should I tell Dr. Mortimer? You know how important it is for him that you keep your weight steady.“

This time she used a vein on the back of his right hand, and when she inserted the needle, he cried out in pain. He didn’t hold still and she had to use her other hand to hold his wrist down. Christina hoped he wouldn’t resist so much as to loosen the needle. She held his hand tightly and he sensed something through the pain. It surprised him so much that he gave up the struggle and momentarily forgot his discomfort. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and waited until she was finished with her task.

“I’m sorry I hurt you. Perhaps I didn’t hit the vein just right, but you must hold still when I draw the blood.”

She knew his eyes didn’t accuse her for the torture seconds ago. When she touched him, he found out her secret as he did with John before she even knew. This alien was so sensitive. Nothing could be held secret from him. How he could know she was pregnant simply by a touch was still a mystery she still didn’t understand. His eyes searched for an explanation.

“Yes, Paul, it’s true,” she admitted, ashamed a little. “Don’t look so surprised. It happened when Ben visited me at Christmas.”

He was somehow still shocked. “Does he know yet?”

“No, and I won’t tell him. I don’t want him to come back just because I’m going have his baby.”

He didn’t share her opinion at all. “He has a right to know!”

“He doesn’t know how to be a father to John lately. Why should he know he’s a father again?”

The discovery cleared up some confusion for Paul. Christina had been nervous lately, her mood changed from one second to the next, and he remembered she never allowed him to touch her for more then a second lately. She knew he would find out her secret as he did the first time.

“How does it feel to carry a child?” he asked calmly, awed over this wonder of life. 

“It’s hard to explain,” she said. “Sometimes I forget that I’m pregnant. I’m strong as always. So far I don’t have morning sickness. Not like I did with John. God, I don’t want to remember my last pregnancy. I actually feel great right now. Ask me again when I feel nauseous and look like a balloon ready to pop, okay?” she chuckled.

 

Christina brought the blood results to the usual Monday discussion. As always, they showed no indication of a health problem. 

“Then why has he lost weight again?” Dr. Mortimer asked in a tone that made her feel personally responsible. “There must be a reason for it! He’s not exercising more than usual, he’s eating his meals, the cook even bakes him his beloved Dutch apple pie at least once a week. When I see how much TV he watches, he should be 300 pounds by now.”

Young agent, Robert Miller was attending the discussion and snickered. 

Christina didn’t find the doctor’s last statement amusing at all. “I’ll tell you why I think he can’t keep up his normal weight. It’s not a physical reason. It comes from his psyche. He has a soul like every other living being, and to put it in simple terms for everybody to understand, a broken heart.”

Dr. Mortimer looked again at the results and wasn’t pleased. He glanced at Ben’s replacement. “You said you have news from California. Tell us, Bob.” 

“Yes, sir, in fact I do,” he began. “I was able to take some pictures and make a copy of the hospital records of Scott Hayden and Jenny Hayden,” he said and handed everything to his boss. Mortimer took the photos out of the envelope and leafed through them. A print in the middle of the pile caught his attention. 

“It seems Mrs. Hayden found someone else,” he said surprised. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Wylie, that you’re forced to learn it through this photo. Do you want to see it?” he asked and looked at her. She didn’t understand what he meant. He gave her the black and white picture. For Christina it was quite a shock. The photograph showed Jenny and her husband, Ben Wylie, walking down through the forest road to the ranch. It looked like they were lovers. Ben had a supportive arm around the woman. Jenny’s arm was around Ben’s waist. Christina stared a long time at the picture and felt a terrible pain in her chest. Now everything became clear to her. The reason why Ben didn’t want to come back to her was because he found someone else, and Jenny didn’t want to visit her former alien lover because she found consolation with someone who finally understood her sorrows. Christina’s eyes became misty. At the moment she wanted to stand up and leave the room, but she forced herself to remain calm. 

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Wylie, that you had to find out this way. Really, I’m sorry for you,” Mortimer said when he saw her reaction. This time she really believed what he said. To give her a moment to recover her feelings, he asked agent Miller, “Have you found out anything about the whereabouts of Scott Hayden?”

“No sir. I assume he left the country with a new identity. It’s hard to find anything about him when you don’t know who you have to seek.”

Dr. Mortimer assumed a long time ago that Mrs. Hayden and her friends arranged a new identity for Scott. He was angry that they were successful. He turned his attention to the hospital report. The file said when Scott was released, he had massive problems with his injured shoulder. The damaged nerves had been sewn together, but the results were less than satisfactory. The hospital released him with a 70% disability. This meant he lost almost all strength in his arm. Therapy was ordered and Scott should have started it. The doctor looked to Christina and thought for a moment if he should hand her the report. It would hit her hard when she read what her bad aim caused. He decided she had to know. She read the details and was devastated. She began to cry. The two men looked at each other when they saw her reaction and the younger man handed her a tissue. She took it and blew her nose.

“What have you found out about Jenny Hayden?” the doctor asked his new agent. 

“She had some doctor appointments in town. I was able to get a copy of her treatment. She has diagnosed ulcerous tumors. She can’t keep food down any more and she’s vomiting blood. The doctor wanted to operate on her and remove a large part of her stomach, but she refused. At the moment she can only eat liquid or semi-liquid food.”

“She doesn’t look ill,” Christina said. 

Mortimer thanked his new agent and dismissed him. Only the two doctors remained in the room. Christina’s strength won over her broken heart and she blew her nose again. 

“Are you all right?” he asked her. 

She nodded. “Can I keep the picture? I need it for my lawyer. I’m filing for a divorce after this.”

The doctor nodded. He didn’t want to say anything to cause her more pain than she already felt. Some seconds passed when he addressed her again regarding Paul’s blood results. “Mrs. Wylie, I have asked the general for permission to endoscope his inner organs. I need you to assist. I want to conduct it Wednesday. We need to find out what’s the matter with him. The daily blood draw is not yielding any new information.” 

“I told you months ago that a daily blood draw was pointless. I also told you why he isn’t feeling well and has problems keeping his weight up. He’s heartbroken. There is no other reason for that. I don’t see a necessity to endoscope him.”

“I’m not asking you for your opinion. The general granted it,” he replied coldly. “It will be done. Will you assist or do I have to find someone else?”

Christina refused to knuckle under this time. “No, doctor, I won’t assist. You’ll need to find someone else to help you for this procedure.” 

Dr. Mortimer was disappointed that she assumed he wouldn’t give Forrester some anesthetic. “He won’t feel a thing after I sedate him. This check-up is done thousands of times in hospitals. I too had to swallow a hose once. It’s not so bad.” 

“I can’t force you to forget your idea, but I don’t see a necessity for it,” Christina argued.

“You know, if you won’t assist, I must take your decision as an act of work refusal,” the doctor warned her. “ I’ll have to dismiss you. Do you want to go that far?”

Christina felt tears coming to her eyes again. He forced her into a corner. If she wouldn’t agree to his order she’d lose her job. The worst thing of all was Paul would lose her. She was the only friend he had left. She thought of her son and the baby inside her. What was more important for her? If she would say yes to Mortimer’s order it would be totally against her beliefs. She was Mortimer’s puppet too much already. 

“No, sir, you don’t need to go that far,” she replied coldly, but determined. Mortimer thought he had won her over. “It’s a shame that it has to end this way, but I won’t do what you wish. If you don’t want me any more it’s not necessary to dismiss me. I quit. I’ll inform the general personally right now.”

She stood up and headed to the doorway to leave the room. Mortimer was staring dumbfounded at her and craned his neck. 

“Don’t do this Mrs. Wylie. Please. You’re upset because you found out your husband….” He stopped. He didn’t want to say it aloud. “Let’s find another solution.”

She had the door handle in her hand and didn’t face him, because tears ran over her face and she didn’t want him to see her crying. “No sir, enough is enough. I don’t want fights any more between you and me. I don’t want to endanger my baby.”

“You’re…baby?”

“Yes, sir,” she said and left the room.

 

She cried a long time in her office and thought over her decision. She wrote a lengthy email to the general, telling him of her notice and what she thought of his decision allowing Dr. Mortimer to conduct the examination with the endoscope. This would be her last e-mail to the general, so she included her opinion why Forrester lost weight. She printed the message and dried her eyes. It was time to inform Paul of her decision. 

 

Forrester was eating a slice of Dutch apple pie the cook brought him minutes ago according to Mortimer’s suggestion. She smiled when she entered his room and saw him. Paul was sitting in front of his TV and watching a science fiction movie. Christina remembered the movie. She’d seen it once before. The military was able to catch an alien and locked him up. The alien was able to produce a bond to a man and the two could communicate with each other telepathically. Then the man helped the alien to escape with the help of his wife. The movie ended with the death of the alien. The man and his wife had another child. They found out that in previous generations the aliens implanted their DNA in the family of the man who could communicate with the being. With the child they named “Hope” the alien would live further in a certain way. Paul’s eyes were fixed on the woman in the movie. Christina did a double take when the woman came on the screen. 

“She looks like Jenny, doesn’t she?” she asked, surprised. The woman was a little younger, but Mrs. Hayden and the woman on the screen had strong similarities.

“Yes, she does,” Paul exclaimed in wonder and looked at Christina. He looked at her again. He knew immediately something had happened when he saw her facial expression. 

“You better turn off the TV, Paul,” Christina said, fighting again with her tears. He did what she ordered and put his dish of pie on the coffee table. She took a seat next to him on the sofa.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, worried.

With total honesty, Christina told him what the doctor had planned for him Wednesday and her decision to give her notice to the general. 

“Don’t do this. Please. Don’t you leave me too,” he begged her. “You’re my last friend. If you go, I have no one else left. If he wants to do this checkup, let him. You said he plans to give me something so I won’t feel anything.”

She cried bitterly, and didn’t like it that he rather wanted to undergo the procedure than to understand her reasons for leaving. 

“Paul, I had to quit. He’s using me as his puppet. Don’t you see that?” she asked, desperate. “Since he took over, I’ve totally lost my position. George Fox depended on someone like me. He had no education as a doctor. Mortimer is a doctor. He can do anything I can. The truth is he doesn’t need my experience as a doctor. He kept me only because I was closer to you than anybody else. I was his connection to you.” Paul put an arm around the sobbing woman. She looked up at him. “There is more I have to tell you. The new agent brought us new pictures from California.” 

Christina got the photo from the envelope and showed it to him. “I don’t care if Mortimer wants you to see that or not. You have a right to know.”

Paul looked at the picture for a long time. He understood why she might get excited over it, but he stayed calm. When he handed it back, he said, “Ben told you that Jenny has health problems. Maybe it isn’t the way it looks. He might simply be supporting her as she’s walking down.”

She couldn’t believe how naive he sometimes was. “Yeah, that’s why she puts an arm around his waist. Wake up, Paul. They’re having an affair! A blind man can see that.”

“I see a man supporting a woman walking,” he said. “You’re adding your own jealousy into that picture. What else has the new agent told you?”

Christina put the photo away. She was a bit irritated because he didn’t share her feelings about the snapshot. “They still don’t know where your son is. Mrs. Hayden hid him well. We’ve got the hospital files. When Scott was released, his arm was not functioning properly. He’s lost 70 % of the strength in his arm because of this injury. He should have started therapy immediately afterward, but then he disappeared.”

The news hit Paul hard. “Oh Scott…” he said. “It is my fault that he’s disabled.” He needed some moments before he asked, “Do you have news on Jenny’s illness?”

“The doctor said she’s suffering from severe stomach ulcers, which have developed itself into tumors. He wanted to remove a major part of her stomach, but she declined the operation. She could die if she doesn’t start therapy.”

“Die?” he asked her, not believing what he heard. 

“I’m so sorry, Paul!” she said and sought his embrace. For the first time in all these years, they held each other like friends would hold one another other to give comfort and ease each other’s pain. Every embrace had to end after a while, and when she let go of him, his eyes were full of unshed tears like hers. “It’s time for me to go. Don’t worry. I’m not as unfaithful as Jenny. I’ll visit you. I want to see how you’re doing.”

“When will I see you again?”

“Soon,” she answered and stood up.

“George Fox, too, said he’d visit me soon. I haven’t heard from him since he left the property.”

“Chin up, Paul, okay?” she said and brushed his cheeks with her hand. Then she left him and closed the door. He was so despaired that he didn’t have the strength to watch her go. Now he was all alone. 

 

General Ryder was in his early fifties. He was General Wade’s successor for the last couple years. The next morning he entered his office in Washington and opened his e-mails. When he read Christina’s notice and her enclosed letter he sank back in his chair in shock. “What’s going on there?” he asked himself. Ben’s early retirement came as a sudden surprise. He had asked him on the phone why he wanted to quit some years earlier than it was mandated. Ben told him that he could no longer work for the military, and said that Forrester’s isolation was a mistake. During the years Ben and Paul really became friends. He understood it. It was hard not to like Forrester. Paul was nice, quite peaceful and gentle, but he also was an extraterrestrial. Now Christina Wylie informed him about leaving the project as well. She explained everything in her letter. Ethan Ryder shook his head. _Forrester must feel terrible. I want an explanation what’s going on and why everyone is leaving._ He ordered his secretary to call Christina at home. When she had her on the line, the secretary connected her to the general’s office.

“Hello, Mrs. Wylie. I’ve just read your e-mail. I’m afraid I can’t let you go so easily. If you don’t mind, I want to talk to you and Dr. Mortimer. How about tomorrow?”

“General, I don’t think talking about everything will change my opinion. I can’t work for Dr. Mortimer any more,” she explained. “The man is driving me crazy. He doesn’t respect my opinion. He’s only doing what he thinks is best. I’m sorry for Paul, but I can’t go back. Have you read what he ordered me to do to Paul? You should see his arms, general. His veins have been pierced so many times, I can’t find a place to insert the needle any more. Honestly, I don’t understand why you’re calling me now. I’ve written my reports and my thoughts to you every day, yet you still allowed Dr. Mortimer to do this endoscope examination.”

“Yes, he said it’s in Paul’s best interests. We need to know why Forrester has problems keeping his weight.”

“I told you why,” Christina said. “I’ve written it in my reports. Paul has a broken heart. His family has abandoned him, and now he’s all alone. Yesterday I had to inform him that his woman is having an affair with my husband. She has major problems with her stomach and will probably die. And I shot his son and turned him into a cripple. In his place, you would lose a couple of pounds as well, General!” 

He heard her accusations in her voice and understood that he probably had underrated this woman. 

“I’m flying down tomorrow. Will you meet me there in the afternoon?” he asked and hoped his request won her over.

She relented. “Okay, I’ll be there.”

 

It was Tuesday and Paul was tired. He hadn’t slept at all last night. He spent the hours thinking over what happened yesterday, what Christina had told him, and how his return to his family last September had caused them terrible pain. Jenny was seriously ill and Scott left the country. Before he knew that his father was alive, Scott was a happy young man working on a ranch. Now he was all alone somewhere and disabled. Paul wanted to change what went bad into good, but he couldn’t see how he could arrange it when he was so far away. He suddenly felt the same guilty feelings Christina had after she shot Scott. _Everything is my fault. I’ve destroyed the lives of the people I love most._

Paul refused to eat today. Dr. Mortimer came and tried to talk to him, but Forrester blamed himself for all the bad things that happened lately. The doctor attempted to comfort him and they talked for a while, but in the end Paul felt even worse.

###    
**Chapter 5**  


The next day the general arrived. Dr. Mortimer was very surprised and welcomed him, since he had no prior notice of his plan to come for a visit. The two talked about the occurrences of the last few days. Ryder informed him about the talk he wanted to have with him and Christina this afternoon. First he wanted to see Paul though. When he entered Forrester’s room, Paul was laying in his bed. The general was informed that this was the second day Forrester refused to eat or drink. Dr. Mortimer told him if Paul didn’t change his mind, he would have to start feeding him intravenously. The general took a chair and sat down beside the distraught alien. The doctor sat on the bed’s edge. When the general took a closer look at Forrester, he was really very worried.

“Hello Paul. Do you remember me? I’m General Ryder. I came to see how you’re doing.”

“Hello General. Yes, I remember you. Right now I’m not feeling so good.” Paul’s voice sounded weak and slow. “I’m feeling guilty and sad. Has Dr. Mortimer told you why?” 

“Actually, Mrs. Wiley did.” The general touched the Starman’s hand.

“What can I do for you, Forrester? You look terrible.” 

Paul smiled weakly. He really liked the general and wished the man had come more often for a visit, but that didn’t matter any more. “I’m okay. I’m going home now. I’m finally free.”

“What are you talking about? You are home.” The general got more and more concerned about the way this being acted. Instead of giving him an answer, Paul kept smiling and closed his eyes. General Ryder suddenly had a dreadful feeling. To his and Dr. Mortimer’s horror, they watched as Forrester released his last breath and lay still.

“Paul? Paul!” General Ryder cried and looked to the doctor to do something.

Mortimer immediately put his stethoscope on and checked Forrester for a heartbeat. He shook his head and punched the intercom button on the wall above the bed, holding down the speaker button and calling a code blue in Forrester’s room. “Send a crash cart here stat!” With the message delivered, help was on the way. He started CPR on the Starman.

Christina had just entered the building where Forrester lived and heard the medical emergency over the speakers. She felt her blood drain to her feet. _Oh no! Paul! You didn’t…_ She took off in a run for his room. 

Dr. Mortimer’s assistant arrived with the resuscitation equipment within minutes of receiving the call. 

“Hook him up to the monitor and ready the defibrillator. Set it for 200,” Dr. Mortimer barked. “Let’s move it!” he said, voicing his urgency.

General Ryder stepped out of the way and watched the scene before him with a tight knot in his stomach. He was deeply shaken and prayed the doctors could bring the alien back.

Christina rushed in seconds later and saw a flurry of commotion. Nurse Reed was speedily connecting Forrester to the monitor and the doctor was applying chest compressions. She gasped. Dr. Mortimer glanced at her and said, “His heart’s stopped. Help me get him ventilated.” 

Christina broke out of her shock and immediately went to assist. She grabbed the balloon ventilator from the cart and placed it over Paul’s nose and mouth, gently squeezing the device, pushing desperately needed air into Paul’s lungs. Maria Reed finished connecting the Starman to the monitor and started charging the defibrillator, applying an electrically conductive cream to the paddles, which would deliver the current. She handed them to Dr. Mortimer. The machine’s artificial voice called out “charging” and a red flashing light indicated the current was building up to the requested level. The light changed to green and the voice said, “ready.” Dr. Mortimer called, “clear,” and Christina stepped back while he delivered the first jolt. Everyone looked at the monitor with hopeful eyes. The line stayed flat. There was still no heartbeat.

“Again,” Mortimer ordered the nurse and she pressed the button to charge the machine once more. 

Christina replaced the ventilator over Paul’s nose and continued giving him breaths of air while they waited for the defibrillator to reach the correct voltage. _C’mon, Paul. Don’t you dare die,_ she pleaded.

Earlier this morning, Forrester started the process to separate his being from the physical body. He knew his energy saved over the years was still too weak to allow a successful separation. The being he was would die and he waited for death. The life form implanted in the body cells detached itself from the DNA causing more and more termination. His organs failed, and then his heart stopped. He wasn’t afraid at all. Actually, he was curious what would come next. As soon his heart stilled, there was no longer the feeling of being in someone’s body. It felt good. He still remembered everything, although it felt blurry, like a dream. Death wasn’t so bad after all. From one second to the next, he was somewhere else. It felt like being inside a tunnel of blue lights. At the end of the tunnel was bright light. The light was so strong he wanted to shield his eyes. It wasn’t necessary, because he didn’t have eyes any more. It felt strangely calming. Love came out of the light. Paul wanted to go inside. Maybe he would find there what he always wanted to have. He looked down on himself and he saw he was a blue light, but the form still had human features, a silhouette of his former body of Paul Forrester. When he looked up he saw someone coming from the end of the tunnel. He waited patently until this being approached him. To his surprise, he saw someone who looked exactly like himself coming out of the blue tunnel. The person was the dead Paul Forrester, dressed like when he died and still 39 years old. 

“Hey pal, what are you doing here?” the other Forrester asked sternly, but in a strange way also friendly. 

Paul was surprised at the way this Forrester talked to him. “I’m sorry, but I have died. You’re dead too. You should know.”

The other Paul breathed in and out impatiently. “Your time isn’t up yet. Go back,” he ordered as he would talk to a boy who entered the wrong classroom.

“I don’t know how. And I don’t want to go back. What are you doing here?”

“Don’t you know?” the dead Forrester asked him. “I’m your guardian angel.”

Now the extraterrestrial started to giggle. He was surprised he was able to do that when he had no body. Or was it only his imagination?

“You don’t believe me, do you?” the dead photographer wanted to know. “ I’ll show you.”

“Show me what?”

“I want you to see why God wanted you to meet humans.” He touched the other Paul and they found themselves on a big expensive boat. 

“What’s that?” the extraterrestrial asked, frightened. He wasn’t used to changing locations at the speed of light.

“Just look. Who is it you’re seeing sleeping?” Paul Forrester showed him two persons cuddled up in a bed. The starborn Paul Forrester came closer and saw it was his son with a woman. He wanted to rouse him, but when he went to touch him, his hand went right through his son. 

“Haven’t you ever seen that movie Ghost, pal?” the other Paul asked him, a little bit annoyed. “We’re ghosts. We can’t touch anyone. We’re in a higher plane of existence.”

“What’s he doing here?” 

“This good looking woman supported your son. He’s giving her his love and she’s giving him shelter.”

“Where is this where we are?” Paul, the extraterrestrial asked and looked around. He could see from the boat windows, other boats near by.

“Somewhere,” answered the younger Forrester. “Now come. I want you to show you something else.” 

Before he could protest, he found himself in another bedroom. It was daylight this time. In the bed was Jenny. His Jenny. She was asleep as well. Her face looked hollow. Paul bent over and tried to stroke her hair. 

“I wish I could really touch her,” he said softly.

“You must go back for that, pal,” the leader of this journey told him. 

“How can I help her?” Jenny’s lover asked Paul Forrester.

“Are you deaf? I just told you. You need to go back. You need to want to go back. This woman needs you. She is suffering from a broken heart just as you had.”

“But to help her, I need to be close to her.”

“Yes, you do,“ he replied. 

“They won’t let me go. There’s no way for me to be close to her. That’s why I chose to die.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that, buddy. The big Kahuna says changes are coming.”

“The big Kahuna?” 

The original Forrester looked at this Forrester and noticed Paul didn’t have a clue who he was referring to. “Yeah. You know. The big guy upstairs.” When the older Paul still didn’t seem to understand, he spelled it out plain and simple for Forrester. “God.” 

“Oh. It’s too late, Paul Forrester,” the alien explained. “The body I cloned from your cells won’t allow me to return. All cells were damaged when I separated myself out of that body.”

“He says you must have faith in Him and in me. Don’t give up yet. Life can be so beautiful. You have done so much for me as well as others. Now I’ll help you. Just look,” he said and both were standing again in the room next to where Dr. Mortimer and Christina worked over the dead body. The extraterrestrial, the blue light with his former body contours, had to look away when he saw his dead body jump from the current they discharged into it, trying to restart his heart.

“You don’t need to be afraid,” his angel told him. “Just close your eyes and wish to wake up.”

“Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz?”

“Yeah, just like Dorothy.”

“Do I have to tap my heels three times too?”

Paul Forrester, former rogue photographer, just smiled and said, “Go. Now. They’re calling it quits on you.” 

He did what his angel proposed. Paul opened his eyes and found himself in his bed. Over him, four persons looked down on him. 

“He’s back with us,” Christina announced with relief as she heard the steady whine from the monitor change to a rhythmic beep, indicating a heartbeat.

“Keep the monitors on him. I want his heart monitored for at least the next 48 hours,” Ryder ordered.

Christina sat on the edge of Paul’s bed and took his hand in hers. 

“What have you done?” she asked him sternly.

“I only wanted to go home and be free, but he didn’t let me. He said my time isn’t up yet.”

“He?” she inquired.

“Paul Forrester. The real one. He said he was my guardian angel. He told me not to give up yet.”

 _“That’s right buddy. Don’t you forget it either!”_ The ghost Paul said, standing at the foot of Forrester’s bed, addressing his charge. 

General Ryder, Dr. Mortimer and Mrs. Wylie all looked at each other for a moment, wondering what Paul had experienced.

“You saw him and spoke to him?” the woman asked, not believing what he told her.

“Yes. I can still see and hear him now,” he said.

“You can? Where is he?”

“There,” Paul said and pointed to an empty space at the foot of his bed. They all looked to where he indicated.

 _“Uh, you better watch it bro,”_ the ghost Forrester warned him. _”It’s not a good idea to tell these people you can see and hear me if you want to leave this funny farm. You know what I mean?”_

“Yes. Okay.”

“Yes, okay, what? I didn’t say anything,” Christina said and looked again at Paul, a little worried. “I don’t see anyone either.”

“I know.” Before she could say more, he said, “I’m tired. I’m going to go to sleep now.” He closed his eyes and fell almost instantly into a deep sleep. To live in a body again was more exhausting than he had thought, especially when he was dead only minutes ago.

Dr. Mortimer ordered his nurse to call the infirmary and have them bring a gurney down. “I’m having him transferred to the hospital wing,” he told the general. 

Ryder agreed to the move for two reasons. Batteries currently operated the monitor connected to Forrester. They needed to switch to one using outlet electricity. The second reason was they were better able to keep an eye on Paul there, should another incident happen. 

“I’ll be in the conference room. After you finish getting Forrester settled, Dr. Mortimer, come see me there. Mrs. Wiley, if you’ll please follow me?” She and Ryder left the room. 

 

“How is Paul? Is he alright?” Christina asked after Mortimer took a seat next to her.

“Yeah. He’s doing okay. I started him on an IV to rehydrate him. You know he hasn’t eaten or drunk anything for two days.”

“What do you make of him seeing and talking to a ghost?” 

General Ryder listened carefully to the doctor’s diagnosis.

“I think it’s delirium brought on by dehydration, stress and his deteriorating physical condition. I wouldn’t worry too much about it unless he keeps seeing it. It’s really quite a common thing with people who’ve had an NDE: a near-death-experience. I think this was just a residual effect. The stress of coming back from the dead overtaxed him.” 

She still was concerned, but she breathed a tentative sigh of relief. “What are you going to do, General?” she asked, switching her attention to him. 

“I don’t know!” Ryder answered, exhausted. This experience seeing the extraterrestrial’s death disturbed him greatly. 

“If Mr. Fox hadn’t insisted on taking him out to see his son and the woman, none of this would have happened!” Dr. Mortimer yelled angrily.

“I’m not so sure about that, doctor,” Ryder replied. “I believe Forrester would be dead by now if we hadn’t taken immediate action. Doing so extended his life.”

“For how long?” Mortimer retorted. “If you don’t let him go now, he’ll try to kill himself again.”

“Letting Forrester go completely free is out of the question, but perhaps we can give him some limited freedom.”

“What do you mean by that?” Christina wanted to know, not believing what the general had just said.

“The ranch on which Jenny Hayden’s living momentarily is in California, in Solvang, right?”

“Sir, sir not so fast,” she said. “If you want to bring him to his family, you must know that they will probably reject him. You’ve read my report. Jenny Hayden might have another relationship. She hasn’t visited him once, and neither has her ex-husband Richard Hayward. You know Scott has left the country.”

“Yes, I’ve read it,” the general said sadly. “I thought we could buy a house there, a normal house with no concrete walls and no guards. He’ll move in with you two. How does that sound?”

Mortimer found the idea comical and laughed. “You want us to baby-sit him 24 hours a day? No General. I’m sorry, but if you really want to do that you have to find somebody else for the job. I didn’t study for so long to end up as babysitter for an ET, and I can’t move to live in California. You know that I have family here.”

The general hadn’t thought of that. “Are you willing to do the job alone, Mrs. Wylie?”

Christina thought over the offer for some seconds. She would need to sell her house. She would no longer have the help of her parents who lived close to her to watch her son when needed.

“I don’t know, General. I’m going to have a baby. I don’t know if I can handle everything by myself. Paul hasn’t been outside of this place in the last eighteen years except for the trip. The world outside will be dangerous for him. He could get hurt. What if the other people find out that he’s an ET? I must supervise him every minute. Besides, I have a seven-year-old at home too. Paul hasn’t learned to act like a normal human being. Before he was captured he was guided by a fourteen-year-old kid! I think this says everything.” 

“Does it? Don’t be so quick to judge him, Mrs. Wiley, and don’t underestimate him. Scott taught him plenty in the short time they lived together before their capture,” General Ryder replied. “I agree he needs more training. Do you agree we have to do something and do it now?”

Christina thought over what he expected from her. “He doesn’t know how to drive a car, or he has forgotten over the years. He can’t cook. He doesn’t even know how to separate the clothes for the washing machine. You can say in a certain way he’s a five year old in a 58 year old body,” she said despairingly.

“That’s all trivial stuff,” the general said. 

She tried to think of more important things. “Okay. He doesn’t know anything about running a lawn mower, or a computer, the Internet or sending an e-mail. He’s never filed an income tax return or set up a monthly budget or balanced a checkbook. He’s never even written a check! He’s never used a credit card or a debit card.”

“He’s very smart. Teach him those things,” Ryder said.

“If you insist I have to do it to make sure he doesn’t do again what he has done today, I’ll go for it, but I’ll need help.”

“I do insist. I think we’ve reached an endpoint with his living here.” The general thought which one he should ask. Dr. Mortimer just declined and he couldn’t ask Christina’s husband. There was only one person left. George Fox. Okay, he was already retired, but he knew Forrester and Christina had a good outcome with him. He only hoped Fox would accept going back to work for them again, giving Mrs. Wylie a little time out. He knew he asked much of the woman. It wouldn’t be easy to handle Forrester.

“We kept him here because he’s the world’s only live ET in existence that we know of, and the world is dangerous for someone who knows next to nothing,” the general said, “but this is the best solution I can think of.”

Before they talked over the details, they went to the infirmary to see Paul. He was still hooked up to the heart monitor, as ordered, and asleep. The return from the death had weakened him a lot. General Ryder gently tried to wake him up. Paul opened his eyes and saw again three faces beside his bed.

“How are you feeling, Forrester?” the general asked. 

Paul felt as though he’d been hit by a car. Every part of his body hurt. He didn’t know why exactly. He only wanted to sleep some more. “I feel terrible. Actually, this body shouldn’t show life signs at all. I still don’t understand why I could return into it.”

“I can’t explain it either. I guess they didn’t want you yet in heaven,” Ryder teased him and hoped the little joke would lighten Forrester’s mood.

“When I met the dead Paul Forrester, he showed me how my son and Jenny Hayden are. I miss them so much. I still love them, although it seems they don’t want me any longer. I’m surprised how strong family bonds are.”

“You want to see them again, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course, but they don’t want to see me.”

“Well perhaps we should try the other way around.”

“What do you mean by that?” Paul asked, hopeful.

“Forrester, I finally understood that we can’t continue holding you isolated in this building. I think it’s time you see something else.” The Starman’s eyes grew wide. He was now very curious what the general had in store for him. “We discussed if you would like to move to Solvang. You would still be supervised and don’t think that we let you go completely free, but I thought of buying a house there. You would move in with Christina and her son. You could see your woman and your friends as often you like.”

Paul didn’t know if the general was fooling around with him or if he told the truth. He looked to Christina. She smiled and nodded to him, confirming everything. Paul looked to Dr. Mortimer. He too, confirmed it, although his expression was a little sadder. 

“You’re not kidding me, are you? You would really do this for me?” Paul asked, still doubtful of the offer. 

The general acknowledged it again. “Yes. It was a hard decision for me, because it will be hard for you too, to live a normal life after almost twenty years. Just don’t die on us again, okay?” 

The general’s words sounded encouraging. Ryder must really like him when his death affected the man so much. Paul’s feelings overwhelmed him. He felt like someone just had opened his dark cell and an enormous shaft of light came into the place he had to stay since the door was closed. He summoned all of the strength he had left and embraced the general. “Thank you,” he said, his voice a mere whisper. The simple gesture moved everybody in the room. Even the general had misty eyes when the gentle alien laid himself back into bed. 

_“See? What did I tell you partner? The big guy never lies.”_

Thankfully, this time Paul said nothing and just smiled when he saw his guardian angel put his finger to his lips suggesting Forrester stay quiet.

_“I gotta go now. See ya later pal.”_

Forrester closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his ghost had vanished.

 

The next two weeks were very busy for Christina and the others, except for Paul. Christina left him the same day telling him she would arrange everything. The general helped her finding a suitable house in Solvang. He looked for a generous house where Christina had enough space downstairs and Paul sufficient room upstairs. There wasn’t much to choose from because the town was not very large, but they did manage to find one such house that fit their criteria. It was expensive. It was newly renovated with a nice garden, a fenced in spacious back yard with room to erect a play swing set for her son, and it had an in-ground swimming pool. Simultaneously, she made her house ready for sale. The military paid for everything: the house, the moving crew, and all associated fees. She just had to arrange and direct everything. It was a shock for her parents to hear she would move to California. This also meant that they would see John, their grandchild, not so often any more. Meanwhile, Paul stayed in the research center and tried to get his strength back. He got stronger each day, but he was still sleeping a lot. Dr. Mortimer cared for Forrester all by himself. He insisted the Starman undergo a complete physical examination. The results yielded nothing indicating a problem, but he still complained over weakness. By the end of the week, the people who worked for the research center said good-bye to the remaining two people one by one. First was the cook, then the cleaning lady, then Ray, and at last the guards and the security people. It was a strange feeling when they went away. They knew they had lost their jobs here, but they went away with a good feeling knowing that the person they worked for went somewhere where it was better for him. At last, only Dr. Mortimer remained with Paul. Sunday evening, Paul heard the moving trucks coming in the research center again and the moving crew collected the doctor’s furniture. Not long after, Paul’s door opened and Dr. Mortimer brought him a large empty box for his belongings. 

“Christina called me and told me that everything is almost ready. She’s at home at the moment and telling the moving crew what they have to move tomorrow,” he informed him. “She’ll get you the first thing in the morning with her car and she’ll bring you to your new home.”

Paul thanked him and sat down on his bed. Mortimer had the impression Paul had changed since his death experience. He was quieter than before. 

“What’s the matter? You don’t look like somebody who is happy to be a free man, well almost free, by tomorrow.”

“I am happy.”

Something in Forrester’s voice told him there was more unsaid. “But? What is it?” he pressed.

“The general didn’t want to tell me who will guard me beside Christina. Do you know?”

Mortimer smiled. “There aren’t many people left. What do you think?”

“I don’t think he’ll ask Christina’s husband or George Fox. They both retired.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” he said, giving him a tiny hint. “The general doesn’t want too many people to know about you. Are you happy that I declined to do the job?”

“I was surprised when I heard it, “ Forrester admitted. “Why didn’t you want to do the job? You were so fascinated with me when we met the first time. You wanted to cut me up to see what makes me tick. I was scared of you.”

“Of course I was mesmerized by you,” Mortimer said. “I’ve never seen an ET before who cloned a human body. I’m a scientist. Science is in my blood.”

Paul looked at him, not knowing if Mortimer said that because he wanted to tease him or if he meant it that way. “What will you do now?” 

“Go back to the University to teach students. Working for the government was an experience I’ll never forget. I’m grateful that I was allowed to meet you. You watch yourself when you’re in this new place. Be very careful and try to gain a little weight, okay? From now on you won’t have me any more to monitor you constantly.”

Paul had never spoken to the doctor this way before. Before, he was always Mortimer’s patient, now they were equal to each other. “I’m surprised to say this to you, but if it wasn’t for you, my body would be dead if you hadn’t tried to start my heart again.”

Dr. Mortimer smiled. ”Believe me, Forrester, I’m glad I saved you too. Losing the world’s most priceless patient doesn’t look good on a resumé,” he said and clapped Paul on the shoulder. He stood and left. 

 

When Paul went to bed that night he was excited and felt bluebirds in his stomach. _Tomorrow I’ll see her again. How will she react? Will she still love me, or is what Christina said true?_ He didn’t know. He only knew what his guts told him: Jenny still cared for him. 

_20 Years._ Almost two decades he had to live here all alone. He couldn’t believe that he really had to die before they understood he couldn’t live like this any longer. How would it be to live with Christina and her son? He didn’t know. He only knew it was better than being forced to live in these rooms with no hope of getting beyond the walls which separated him from the outside world. Then he thought again of the real Paul Forrester. He still remembered well the experience he had when he wanted to end his life. Sometimes he felt it was just a dream. Or was it? How was it possible to wake up in his old body when he remembered disconnecting his energy force from the cells destroyed the body for good? Why did Forrester show him his son and Jenny one more time before he brought him back? Did he want him to understand what he had to live for?

###    
**Chapter 6**  


It was around 3 or 4 AM when Paul managed to fall asleep. A noise woke him up at 7 AM. 

Dr. Mortimer opened the door. He reminded Paul to get ready and urged him into the bathroom. 

“Hurry Forrester,” he ordered. “Christina is already on her way. She’ll be here in 10 minutes.”

When she arrived she found Paul putting his things into boxes. There were only two: one for his clothes and the other for the few personal gifts they’d given him over the last twenty years. Everything else belonged to the government and would stay. General Ryder had already bought Paul a new bedroom set and it would be waiting for him upon his arrival. 

She crossed out points in her notebook. The next one said: Get Paul and make sure he had not flooded the bathroom again. After a last view through the rooms to see if everything was collected, she finally asked, “Are we ready?”

“I don’t know about you,” he told her, “But I am.” 

Paul had drained the water from the aquarium until it was half full. She saw his concern over his pets. 

“Don’t worry, no harm will come to your fish while they are being moved.” 

She picked up the smaller box and Mortimer the larger one and they left. Paul followed her carrying the aquarium. With a last glance back, he said good-bye to the place that was his home for the last nineteen years. With a strange feeling, Paul went to the green BMW where Christina got in and popped open the trunk. He saw a child sleeping in the back seat. In the trunk space he saw an animal cage covered with a blanket. 

“These are John’s guinea pigs,” Christina informed him. I didn’t want to send them with the movers.” 

He slid the aquarium next to the cage while she gave the boxes to the movers, who put them in the truck and drove away . Christina gently closed the hatch. At last they said good-bye to Dr. Mortimer. The doctor said he would stay until the moving people finished their work and hand the building over to the military the same day. He wished Paul all the best and promised to stay in touch. 

They got in. The strange and funny feeling he had stayed when he buckled himself in. He glanced in the back to look at John.

“Your son has grown a lot. The last time I saw him, you showed me a picture of him on his fifth birthday. Do you remember?” 

She giggled a little. “Yes, I remember. Please speak quietly. John couldn’t sleep last night. He was up until 4 AM. He was so excited. When he finally was allowed to get in the car he fell asleep as soon I started the engine.” 

She started the car and drove out of the property. Mortimer waved his hand good-bye after them. Paul turned his head and waved back, although he felt strange doing so. Later, he looked in the car’s right side door mirror and watched until the building disappeared from view. He looked out at the scenery ahead and felt tears of joy filling his eyes. He was finally out of that prison, this time for good. He gazed at the woman beside him. 

“Christina?” he asked softly. “What have you told your son about me? Does he know who and what I am?” 

She glanced in the rear view mirror to make sure John was still asleep before replying. “All he knows is, you are the special man I’ve been taking care of for the last twenty years. He does not know you are an ET, and you must not tell him either. He’s still too young to be entrusted with that secret.” 

“Agreed,” he said and went back to watching the changing view. He wanted to ask her about the spheres, but he held off out of fear she’d think he was planning another escape, but he wondered if she had them with her. Or were they still in the compound? Were they even there at all? Did George Fox have them moved elsewhere? He was certain Fox didn’t trust keeping them in the vault any more. Did General Ryder have them? Would he ever get them back? More importantly, what if something happened and he needed to use them? Would they trust him and let him have them? The answers to all these questions had to wait.

“So, how are you?” Christina asked with concern. “Dr. Mortimer told me you slept a lot when I was away. Did he do anything to you?”

Paul informed her the doctor gave him a complete physical exam before leaving and he performed the operation, sterilizing him the same as they did Scott. It was a condition he had to agree to it if he wanted to live in the outside world. She asked if the two small cuts still hurt, but he said no, although his private area was still sensitive after the operation because it was performed only a few days ago. He didn’t want to talk about it any more with her and changed the topic. “How are you? You look a little exhausted.”

“I’m okay, but it was tough the last two weeks,” she said. “I’ve never thought anyone can handle so many things in this short a period of time. I’ve learned that good planning is half of the job.”

“Have you seen anyone while you were busy in the new house?” he innocently asked, hoping she had more news about what he wanted to know.

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t even have time to see Ben. They probably don’t know yet that we’ll live not far away from them from now on.”

“When we arrive, can we go and see them?” he asked cautiously. Christina breathed a heavy sigh. They were only two miles on the road and he had only one thought in his head – to see Jenny Hayden.

“We’ll see about that after we unpack most of the stuff,” she spoke as calmly as possible. “That means you’re going to help me. There is a lot for you to do, Paul. From now on you must learn that nobody is pampering you any more.”

He knew that his question about seeing Jenny annoyed her, so he decided to be quiet and look out of the window. It was the same route they drove five months ago. Christina didn’t think any more about Paul’s request, and she concentrated on the road. Her car came from Germany and had a manual transmission, unlike American cars, which were mostly automatic. Paul never saw a car with a stick shift and it roused his interest why there were three pedals on the floor. He observed her for some time. He noticed when she had to slow down, or accelerate, she always stepped on the left pedal and put the stick in another direction. 

“I’ve never seen a car like yours. Why are you shifting the stick so much?” he finally dared to ask. She smiled secretly and glanced at him.

“This is a BMW. I told you my father had a BMW shop in Las Vegas before he retired. These cars come from Bavaria, Germany. In Europe, everyone knows how to drive a car with a stick. When you shift the gears with the stick, you do what the automatic does normally in cars with automatic transmission.”

“Then why not get an automatic? It’s much easier than shifting all the time.”

“Driving an automatic is for wimps,” she said and laughed when she saw his offended facial expression.

“It looks complicated,” he admitted.

“I guess it is for people who haven’t learned it. General Ryder talked about you getting a driver’s license in the near future. I know you used Paul Forrester’s license in the past, but that was so many years ago. It would be good for you take some lessons before you take your driving test.”

Paul smiled when he thought about the prospect. “Sure, no problem. Will you teach me how to drive your car?”

“We’ll see,” she answered, trying not to get him too excited about it. She looked in the rear view mirror again and checked to see if John was still asleep. When she saw he was, she approached Paul about other issues.

“Before he wakes up I want to talk with you about what I want you to tell him and other people when they ask who you are and why you live with us. We can’t tell them the truth. So I want you to tell them that you’re living with us because you’re a foreigner the military is interested in, and George and I are here to help you to get on well with the American way of life.”

“You mean George Fox? Is he the one who will support you in watching me?” Paul interrupted her. The news surprised him.

“Yes. General Ryder wanted as few people as possible to know about you,” she replied. “That’s why he asked George Fox. He’s living in Santa Barbara since his retirement. At first he hesitated, because he has found other interests, but in the end he agreed. Ryder trusts Mr. Fox completely, and offered to pay him very well, although he has to do basically nothing when he is there to support me. He’ll be there only on weekends.”

“I see,” Paul said, interested in finally learning who the other person was who will live with them.

Christina went back to talking about her son. “I spoke with John and told him that you will live in our house upstairs from now on. It was hard for him to understand why you live there, and sometimes George Fox too, instead of his father, but he’ll get used to it. There’s more Paul, I want you to be informed about. General Ryder decided to give you limited freedom, but that doesn’t mean that the military will let you go to live as a free person, okay? Lucky for you, he finally understood that the way he held you in that cage wasn’t right. I’m glad that he decided to offer you the chance to live as a real human being. His decision had to do with many things, but mainly it was with your will to die. I’ll try my best to treat you as a full member of our new household, but I want you know that I and Mr. Fox are still your bosses. You do what I or he says. Understood? This also means that you won’t have to find a job, because the military will pay for all of your expenses. And there is more. Now that you’ve been ‘fixed’, General Ryder has graciously agreed to let you have sexual relations. I don’t know if Jenny loves you or not, but perhaps someday you’ll meet somebody else and fall in love with her.” Christina hated talking with him about this issue, but it was necessary. She glanced at him, but broke off eye contact a second later. 

“Why should I fall in love with someone else? There is only Jenny Hayden who I love.” 

Christina didn’t want to start a discussion and didn’t answer. Paul thought a moment if he should tell her his thoughts or if he should keep them to himself. He decided to let her know his views. “It was cruel to sterilize my son the same way they sterilized me some days ago. He’ll never have children of his own because of this sterilization. He’s lost his fiancée because of that.”

“Oh come on, Paul, stop it, please!” she argued. “That woman deceived him. See it as an experience he had to learn. Many, many men undergo this operation to make sure they don’t have any more kids. You and Scott still can enjoy pleasure in bed. Accept that the military doesn’t want to have more half alien children from you or him. It was necessary back then to do it. Otherwise they would never have agreed to let him go. You just can’t expect from a teenager, and later from a young man to suppress his or her sexuality. Making girls pregnant happens faster than you might think. Just look at me. I thought too my time for having another child is over.”

Christina looked down at her waist. She touched her belly. Her pregnancy was still early and nothing indicated her condition yet. At the moment she was lucky to have no kind of sickness at all because of the changes in her body. She looked again to Paul and wanted to stop arguing about things she or he couldn’t change any more.

“What did Mr. Fox do all the time since his retirement?” Paul asked her to change the topic. 

“You will be surprised, but he fell in love. He has changed for the positive. You’ll see. He’s happier now and can control his temper much better. He’s radiating his happiness.”

Paul smiled when he heard the encouraging news. He felt glad for Mr. Fox. “Why didn’t he visit me as he told me he would?”

“Paul,” Christina hesitated. She wasn’t in the mood to tell him that George was now loving Jenny’s best girlfriend, but he would find out about it sooner or later. “George,” she started, and stopped again. She looked at him and saw he expected an answer. “Sylvia Travis is, was, Mrs. Hayden’s best friend. She published Jenny’s book. George and Mrs. Travis fell in love while they fought over pulling the book. You can imagine that this ended Jenny’s and Sylvia’s friendship when George succeeded and Jenny had to learn the two teamed up against her. Sylvia and George, at least Ben told me this once, are working to change the stories of the book in a way that the military can live with it. They’re working on changing the book so the FSA looks good and not the total idiots as she had described them.”

 

When John woke up, he was a little cranky and hungry. Christina asked Paul to grab the lunch pack, which was behind her seat, and give him something to eat, then asked him to get something for her and him if he wanted. He admitted he was hungry and gladly ate an apple.

They were in the middle of the route when Christina stopped for gas. John needed to use the bathroom and the for the first time in her new occupation as Paul’s protector and guide, she realized she had to leave him for a short time alone. Paul saw her inner struggle. 

“Go with him. I’ll wait here.”

 _It’s harder than I thought. Maybe I’m just not used to expecting responsibility from him_ , she had to admit. However, she left him because she told herself she had to trust him and went with her son into the women’s bathroom. While they were gone, Paul changed his mind and decided to take care of business as well and headed for the men’s room. When Christina came with John back to the car she saw Paul missing. Her first thought of course was he had used the opportunity to escape. A thousand more thoughts came into her mind and she panicked. 

“Paul!” she cried hysterically, the child’s hand in hers. She turned her head in every direction. Forrester was not in sight. She called his name again. There was no answer. Christina headed for the gas shop with her son in tow. She asked if they had seen Forrester, but nobody remembered him. When she ran to check the toilets again, she bumped into Paul, who came around the corner. 

Angrily, she asked, “Where have you been? I asked you to stay in the car and the next thing I saw you gone when I came back.”

“I thought I should use the men’s room before we drive again. That’s all,” he innocently apologized. “I’m sorry. I guess I should have waited until you came back, or knocked on the women’s room door to let you know. It was a mistake. It won’t happen again.” He saw how agitated she was. 

She pushed him towards the car. “Make sure it doesn’t! You scared the hell out of me when I saw you gone.”

They all got back in the car. 

“I’m sorry,” he repeated feeling guilty. “I guess I’m not used to my new situation yet. You must have thought I ran away.”

Christina felt better, but she was still annoyed. John listened to his mother scolding Paul and reminding him of his obligations if he wanted his new freedom to work.

 

Three hours later they finally arrived. The house was only nine hundred feet away from where the car accident happened. For Christina and Paul both, it was a horrible reminder when she passed the junction. When she parked the BMW in the driveway, the moving truck stood on the street and the two-man crew started to unload Christina’s furniture. Together with the moving men, they entered the house. It was as she had described it: generous and warm. The garden was suited to the size of the house. There was a swimming pool in the back yard. Paul’s Jacuzzi would be delivered in a few days. After they had unloaded the animals from the car, John and Paul moved with interest and awe through the house. She showed Paul his rooms. He had the same rooms Christina had downstairs, except for a kitchen and living room. His new bedroom set was already waiting for him. There was also a separate bedroom with bathroom upstairs for a visitor. She explained this would be Mr. Fox’s room when he was there. Paul’s bedroom was much more spacious. He had a little balcony and a modern bathroom. The third room would be used as his living room. 

The things from the kitchen and the bedrooms were all stowed away when Christina called through the big house, “Dinner’s ready!” 

The moving crew finished with their job and left minutes ago. She knew Paul was upstairs unpacking his things and John did the same in his room. Two hungry men came immediately to the dining room table and saw she had ordered some pizza. In the jumble the two hadn’t heard the pizza being delivered. When they were finished with their dinner, John asked, “Can we go to see Daddy now?”

“Yes, we will,” she answered and smiled at him when she saw his face light up. Then she looked to Paul. Her answer lightened his mood as well. It meant he would finally see Jenny again.

It was getting dark when the three climbed into the BMW and headed to the ranch. Paul directed her to the cabin. Everything looked the same, except the trees did not have so many leaves. They saw light in the main house and in the stable as they drove up the hill. When they stood in front of the cabin, Christina saw no light in the house. A dusty old car was in the carport. Nothing indicated that the cabin was still occupied. 

“I’ll come with you,” Christina proposed and they climbed up. John stayed close to her. With a fast heartbeat, Paul entered the porch to the cabin. He saw that somebody had replaced the singed wood of the porch. He swallowed and took a deep breath before he knocked. 

“Jenny, it’s me, Paul!” he said and knocked again. There was no answer. No light came on in the cabin. He repeated his words. Meanwhile, Christina and John checked around the house. When they came back she just shrugged when his eyes asked if she had seen something.

“Let’s drive down to the stable. Maybe they are in the main house,” she proposed.

She parked the car at the visitor’s place in front of the stable and they climbed out. 

“Where’s Daddy?” John asked. They heard someone whistling a song in the stable building. She knew from the song that it was Ben. 

“I guess we just found him, John. Go run to him. I’ll follow,” she said and the boy took off into the stable. They heard the drop of a broom and Ben’s joyful cries when he saw who came running. 

Christina turned to follow, but stopped when Paul didn’t move. She saw the disappointment and concern on his face. “All right, Paul, you go to Hayward’s house and say hello. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Ben had his son in his arms hugging and kissing him. “Oh John, I missed you so much!” he said when he saw Christina entering the stable. He still held the boy in his strong arms when he welcomed his wife with a totally different tone. “Hi,” he said coolly. 

Christina welcomed him with the same words, but tried to be a little friendlier. She knew that he must have gotten the letter from her lawyer and this was why he was so cold to her.

“Dad, guess what? We’re practically neighbors now!” John felt in his youthful temperament the need to tell him right away about it. “You can visit me and I can visit you now every day!”

“What?” Ben couldn’t believe it. His son’s words still hadn’t sunk in. 

“Yes!” the boy confirmed it. “We’re living down the street with Paul. I missed you so much Dad! Please come back and live with us!”

Ben looked to Christina with a “please explain this to me” look and set the child down, although John still wanted to hang on to him.

“It’s true. A lot of things happened since you visited us the last time, Ben,” she explained. “I’ll tell you the story later, once we are alone. The general decided to give Paul limited freedom. If I wouldn’t have agreed to his proposal, he would have stayed back there.”

“And Mortimer? What’s with him?” Ben asked, overwhelmed by the news.

“He didn’t want to be Paul’s babysitter. He went back to his old job.”

Ben was astonished. _They finally saw that keeping Paul in that cage was a mistake._ He had so many questions, but at the moment he felt the need to sit down.

 

When he came to the entrance an automatic light came on. They had seen light in the house, so he was sure the man was at home. Paul stood and knocked at Richard’s heavy wooden door. Paul heard someone coming to open the door and Sparky, Jenny’s dog, barking inside. His heart raced. The door opened and he stood opposite Richard Hayward, the rancher and owner of the property.

“Hello, Richard,” Paul welcomed him. The other man just stood there and stared at him, not believing his eyes. The dog remembered him and jumped on Paul’s knees, yapping. While Mr. Hayward was still in shock, the Starman welcomed the terrier by petting his neck and head. 

“Paul!” the rancher exclaimed after some seconds. “What are you doing here?” he managed to ask and then joy set in. Richard rushed in Paul’s arms and the two embraced each other like old friends.

“Man, where are you coming from?” Richard asked and looked around for somebody else, but no one was in sight. 

“There is much I need to tell you. Is Jenny living with you here?” Paul asked, hoping for a plausible answer why the cabin was deserted.

“Yes, she does. Come in, Paul. Come in,” the rancher said. 

 

John was still hugging his father, who sat down on a bundle of straw. So many thoughts raced through Ben’s head. He had his arm around his son, but at the moment he was too occupied with thinking to fully enjoy his child’s affection.

“Then it was you who bought the luxury house in town. I drove the other day down the street and wondered who could afford to buy such a place so far away from anything.”

“Yes,” Christina confirmed with just a single word. “The government bought it for Paul. I have cleaned out our house in Nevada. If you don’t mind I want to sell it. The broker said he has already a couple of interested people. We would get a good price for our house. All your things are in my garage. You can get them whenever you want.”

“I must ask you something,” Ben said and looked up. “Why are you filing for a divorce?” He hated to discuss this in front of their child, but the question couldn’t wait.

“You know why. My lawyer sent you the picture. Do you think I’m stupid?” she started to accuse him.

“You got it all wrong, Christina. That picture was taken the day Richard and I brought Mrs. Hayden to live in his house. She was weak and I supported her when we walked her down. You can ask Richard. He was a few feet behind me and carried her things.”

“That’s ridiculous!” she exclaimed. “If you still love me you would have come back to me. We, John and I, weren’t worth enough for you to visit us more often. You don’t love me any more and I can’t live with that, Ben. You don’t need to explain anything to me any more.” 

 

Paul was a little shy when Richard offered him a seat in his living room. His eyes searched for the woman he loved, but he didn’t see her. Sparky jumped next to Paul and hoped he’d get attention. Forrester stroked his head. The rancher sat down next to him and told him, “Jenny is living with me now, Paul. She’s very ill. She took her medicine not long ago and she’s probably in deep sleep.”

“I heard that she was very sick,” the Starman replied sadly. 

Richard was still so surprised that Paul Forrester really sat there in his living room. “Now, tell me, did they let you go? Or did you escape? Have they brought you here because you couldn’t bear it any longer again? Tell me,” he asked his first questions. 

Paul started his story about everything that happened since they took him away from the ranch. Richard almost fell off his seat when he heard that Forrester was living just up the road from now on. He was surprised how much Paul knew of the things that happened meanwhile on the ranch. _They must still be watching her_ , he guessed. He informed him that Jenny did get Scott out of the country. She had to sell her car to buy him new identity papers. Jenny wanted to go with him too, but they didn’t have enough money to get her a fake passport as well.

“I don’t know exactly where he is at the moment. All I know is he’s somewhere in South Europe and lives there under a new name. He told me that he’d never come back. Only Jenny knows exactly where and how he calls himself now. She isn’t telling anyone about him, not even me. Nobody is allowed to mention his name. I don’t have contact to him. Since Scott left us she fell apart. She had pain in her stomach. She didn’t want to go to see you because she was so sick. I just got her from the hospital after her first treatment. It would have hurt her too much to leave you again. I’m sorry, Paul, that we didn’t come to visit you, but I didn’t want to come alone either. Since the day Scott got shot and she had to let him go a second time in her life, she’s not the same woman. He’s her only son and she really loves him very much. It also nags on her that she knew they were keeping you in that prison. Have you heard what happened to her book?”

Paul nodded. “I guess hearing that Mr. Fox is together with her best friend did the rest to her, didn’t it?” he asked, feeling heaviness in his heart.

“I’m sure you want to see her before Mrs. Wylie will take you back to your new house. I’ll take you to our bedroom,” Richard said, making Paul uncertain in which relationship Richard and Jenny stood. Mr. Hayward stood up and waited until Paul followed him.

“I must ask you something before I go and see her,” Paul finally admitted. “Christina showed me a photo of Ben walking with Jenny. She got the impression that they are together. Now I learn that she lives meanwhile in your house and you care for her. What’s the truth?”

Hayward’s eyes darkened. “I love her, Paul, as much as you do. There is nothing between Ben and Jenny. I don’t know where they took that photo. Perhaps when the two of us walked her down from the cabin. Was I in that picture?”

“No, it was just Ben and Jenny,” Paul answered. He was now more confused than before. Richard hadn’t yet confirmed if he was able to get his ex-wife back, or if he just cared for her because there was nobody else. 

Richard shrugged. “Come now, but be quiet. I can’t promise that you can rouse her though, okay? The last days in the hospital were terrible.”

Paul followed him to the bedroom and Richard carefully opened the door. “Are you awake?” he asked and switched on the light on the nightstand. Meanwhile, Paul entered the room with the same concern. It was the same room he saw her when he had his experience. However, his eyes beamed when he recognized his lady and a small smile appeared in his troubled face. Jenny was asleep, but looked sick. Her face was hollow as he had seen her in his near death experience. He carefully sat down on the edge of her bed and started to touch her hair, then stroked her face. He called out her name just above a whisper. His feelings overwhelmed him and a tear ran down his face. He understood now how severe her condition was. Jenny woke up, but she was under the influence of the drugs. It made her see things like in a blur. Her eyes needed some time to focus on the two people at her side. She recognized Richard standing over her, but who was the other one? 

“Paul, is that you?” she asked, whispering. In her voice was joy. Paul was so moved by her words, he took her hand, which wanted to touch him and kissed the palm of her weak, small hand. He wasn’t able to give her a confirmation, instead he bent down and kissed her on the lips. Paul’s energetic touch alone made her understand it was him. When they kissed he understood what caused her problems. There was a lot of damage in her digestive system, but the cause for it was in her soul. Jenny’s strength to kiss him was limited. She was influenced by the drugs so much, she wasn’t sure if Paul was real or a dream. She touched his face with her fingers.

“Why did you leave me? Please don’t leave me again. Never leave me,” she managed to say before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again. Paul was devastated and looked up to Richard.

“I’m sorry you have to see her like this,” he apologized to Paul. “The doctor told her to undergo this surgery to remove parts of her stomach, but she declined. She told me she felt that this illness would be her end and she wants to die here in peace.”

Paul stood up, determined not to let that happen. “She won’t die. The problems for her illness come from her problems in the past. All she has to do is face them,” he said. “I want to see her tomorrow if you don’t mind.”

“No, I don’t mind,” Richard replied. He felt uneasy again. As much as he liked Paul, regarding Jenny, they were rivals now.

 

Richard saw so much sadness in Paul’s face after seeing Jenny. He was used to her condition, but it was the first time Paul had seen her like this. 

“Is Mrs. Wylie with you?” he asked, hoping that he could cheer up the gentle alien. 

“Yes, I guess she’s in the barn.”

“Let’s go outside. I want to welcome her.”

 

“What’s a divorce, Dad?” John asked his father about the words his parents had exchanged. Ben felt a knot in his throat and regretted he hadn’t found it necessary enough to see his family more often. In the last months he was so occupied with himself. Now he got back his balance and felt much better. He really didn’t know how hard it became for both of them. It wasn’t his fault alone. Christina could have come to see him. She didn’t. The photo did the rest. He should have known that they would send somebody else to supervise the Hayden’s. Since Scott was gone, he thought they weren’t interested in Mrs. Hayden any more. He really should have been more careful. Why did the agent have to take the picture at that moment? Christina’s eyes saw an affair and coupled with his behavior in the last months, she got the wrong impression. 

“Divorce means your mom and dad will be separated. I won’t live in your house. You don’t need to worry though. We still love you as much as before. Divorce is not about the children, John. It’s just when mom and dad don’t love each other any more. We will see each other often, perhaps much more now than before when I still worked for the government. And I don’t live far away. Just two or three miles. I can visit you and vice versa. Not many children have this luxury.”

“But I want you to live with us,” John said and started to cry. 

Ben cradled him and didn’t know what to tell him because he didn’t understand it either. Richard and Paul came into the stable and approached Ben, his wife and son. Wylie still had John in his arms and hugged him. Despite the sad moment, his eyes showed surprise when he saw Paul coming closer. He examined Forrester from head to toe. Paul seemed to have lost a little weight, but otherwise he looked okay. Of course he was a little sad after seeing his girlfriend’s condition. Meanwhile, Richard shook hands with Christina and welcomed her as a new citizen in town. John had calmed down a little and Ben stood up to welcome Paul. 

“Hello, neighbor,” he teased the Starman a little to lighten everyone’s mood. The two embraced each other. 

“I’m so glad they decided to move you out of there.”

“Me too,” Paul said.

 

Richard sensed Paul and Christina wanted to tell Ben what happened with Paul in private. He decided to volunteer to occupy the child for a while. 

“Hello, I’m Richard Hayward. I own this place. Who are you?” he asked John, hoping he had calmed down enough to get his attention.

“John,” the child answered after a while. He had enough manners to give the man his hand to shake. Richard took it and said, “Do you want me to show you my horses? Do you know I bought two ponies? Do you want to see them?”

John didn’t know if he should go and looked up to Ben. His father encouraged him to follow the rancher. The ponies were in another section of the stable and as soon the two were out of sight, Christina and Paul filled him in of the events that lead to Paul’s new life. Ben had to sit down again when he heard Forrester died, and that it was Dr. Mortimer and Christina who brought him back. It angered him that Forrester actually had to die before they decided to release him. He was glad he was sitting when Paul told him the real Paul Forrester showed him why he had to live and showed him Scott and Jenny.

“That’s remarkable,” he exclaimed and ran his fingers through his hair. “You were really dead. You saw the light. Someday you must tell me every tiny detail, okay?”

Paul chuckled. “I will.” 

Christina suddenly felt dizzy and felt the need to sit down. Ben stood up to help her. 

“My head’s spinning from one second to the next,” she said.

Ben and Paul bent down to her. 

“What is it?” Ben asked her, alarmed. Paul knelt and put his hand on her shoulder while she breathed in and out heavily, hoping to improve her condition. His touch told him the reason for her dizziness was the pregnancy. 

He forgot she didn’t want Ben to know about it and bluntly told him, “It’s just the baby.” He suddenly realized his mistake when he saw Christina’s look on him. She still hadn’t found the courage to tell Ben about it. Nobody knew about it, except Paul, Mr. Fox, Dr. Mortimer and the general. No, that wasn’t true. She had told her mother too. She felt ashamed that she hadn’t told Ben first. 

Ben looked at Forrester with a questioning look. “The baby?” Both, Paul and Christina looked up to him. Christina wanted to disappear at this moment and stayed quiet. Paul stood up and Ben’s eyes begged for an explanation. He told him, “Christina is pregnant.”

“I know what pregnant means,” Ben said, horrified and still unable to accept the news. “Who’s the father?”

Christina could do nothing else but give him a slick smile. She felt strong enough to stand up with Paul’s help. “You’re the father, who else?”

“I don’t think so,” Ben answered her. 

“I’m in the 13th week. Count back yourself,” she said angrily. Wylie breathed heavily, shocked over the news and in denial. 

“I don’t think that I’m the father of your child, Christina. You’re almost 43 years old. We needed five years to conceive John with you taking a lot of pills until you got pregnant.”

“I know,” she agreed, “but I can only say that you’re the father. There was no one else. You were with me over Christmas. That’s when it happened.” 

Ben sat down on the bale of straw again. He ran his fingers through his hair several times and a million thoughts came into his mind. He counted back the weeks since Christmas.

“No, Christina, I didn’t father your child. I’m not that stupid. You must be in the 11th week, not in the 13th. I don’t know who the father is, but it’s not me. Perhaps it was you, Paul!” he started to accuse the Starman. Ben noticed how much Christina and Paul’s relationship had changed since he had seen them last. A half year ago, Paul was a prisoner. Now they seemed to be close friends. The accusation was out of his mouth before he realized what he had said.

“Excuse me, Ben,” Paul said, offended. “How can you say I’m the father? I don’t have any secret relationship with her. I wasn’t allowed to have sex.”

“Is that so?” Ben asked him, suddenly hostile. 

“You know it is,” Paul replied softly.

Christina was disappointed in Ben. She knew she shouldn’t have told him in which week she was pregnant, because the pregnancy weeks always caused confusion in everyone’s count. In reality she was in the 11th week, not the 13th. Doctors added the first two weeks of the month in which the child was conceived. Not many people knew that fact, or Ben had forgotten since the last time. She didn’t want to argue about this with him right now. Perhaps it was better this way. She was disappointed that Ben thought she betrayed him and that he accused Paul to be the father. 

“Don’t worry, Ben. If you have doubts about you being the father, I won’t force you to take this child as one of yours. Just don’t say that Paul is the father, because that’s total nonsense, okay?” She turned and went away to look for John. Ben and Paul remained. 

“I’m sorry she hasn’t told you earlier about this,” the Starman explained. “You should be proud to be a father to a child once more. I know how you must feel. It’s not common that a woman gets pregnant at her age when she had problems conceiving earlier. See this child as a gift, Ben. I would.”

Ben eyed Paul for a long time and felt ashamed he accused Forrester of impregnating his wife. What Paul said moments ago was sadly true. Sex was strictly forbidden to him. He also knew Paul had no interest in his wife. All that mattered to Forrester was his Jenny. Still, he did not apologize. 

“It would be too much of a wonder, Paul. Couldn’t it be that you made this wonder possible as you did when you gave Jenny your child?” he asked, still wanting believe Forrester was responsible.

He had no opportunity to discuss it with Ben. Christina came back with John and Richard followed. Christina was hurt that Ben didn’t want the baby, but instead of showing her pain, she ignored the accusations. She seemed as if she didn’t care what he thought.

“We’re going now.”

“Can I come up and see Dad tomorrow?” John asked.

“I have to enroll you in school tomorrow,” she explained. “Tomorrow’s Monday. Have you forgotten? When you have done your homework, I’ll bring you up, okay?”

John said good-bye to his father and to Richard. So did Paul and they left.

 

Christina brought John to bed, while Paul dressed for bed himself. He was very sad about what happened today, first learning how sick Jenny was, and second that Ben thought he was the father of Christina’s baby. He heard a knock on his new bedroom door and a second later Christina entered.

“He’s finally asleep,” she informed him and looked through the room. She saw he’d already put up the photos of Jenny and Scott on the wall. “You arranged the room very nicely. That’s something I still have to do to my own bedroom.” She sat down on the edge of his new bed.

He finally asked the question that nagged at him. “Why does Ben think I’m the father of your child?”

Christina only shrugged. “I don’t know and I’m sorry. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Will you talk with him about this again?”

“No. He doesn’t want it. Well, I don’t care,” she stubbornly said. “The baby will be mine. Just mine, do you understand?” 

Paul gazed at her. “But when the baby is born it needs a father too.”

“He should have thought of that before he accused me of having a baby with somebody else. So don’t worry.”

“But I do worry,” he answered. “I see all that’s happened in the last months have torn you as marriage partners apart. I always envied you two your relationship. Now all of a sudden you’re so cold to each other. You two have a son and in a short time you’ll have a second child. Please think of them too. You must give Ben another chance. Please.”

Christina smiled and loved how much he cared for her and wanted to help. “We’ll see,” she said. In reality she meant, ‘This is not your business’. She stood up and went to the door. “Oh Paul, when I take John to enroll in school tomorrow, I want you to come with me. I’ll drive you to the registry of motor vehicles to get the booklet for your learner’s permit, and I need to get a new driver’s license since we’re now going to live in California. After that we’ll go shopping. You need some new clothes and we need groceries too. So please set your alarm for seven. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said and left.

###    
**Chapter 7**  


Jenny came out of the bathroom and sat down in the chair at the breakfast table. She felt terrible and sick like always. Richard had fed the dog and brought her the packs of special food the doctor had ordered her to eat. It was a food blended with water that was easy to digest. She hated it, but it was almost the only thing she could eat without vomiting again. With slim fingers she opened a packet and put it in a bowl of water. 

“Did you sleep well?” Richard asked her as he poured himself a cup of coffee. 

“I had a weird dream. Paul was here, sitting at the edge of my bed and he kissed me. You were there too,” she absently told him and looked out of a window where she saw Ben bringing the mares to the paddocks. 

Richard thought a while how he should tell her the news, then admitted, “It wasn’t a dream.”

Jenny craned her head. “I was looking to the horses. Pardon me, what did you say?”

“It wasn’t a dream. He was here yesterday.”

“Who?” 

“Paul and Christina. They have moved him out. They’re living in that beautiful expensive house down the street which was for sale.” 

Jenny dropped her spoon. She waited for Richard to say it was a bad joke, but he stayed serious. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide with shock. 

“I’ll tell you everything that he told me, okay?” he said and filled her in. 

Jenny was stunned. Her heart raced and she was moved to tears. _My God_ , she thought. _They have really given him a chance for a new life. I can’t believe it_. “I must see him. Now! Please drive me down to the house!” she asked, driven with new power by the news he’d given her. She stood up, but had to sit down again momentarily, feeling weakness in her knees. 

“I’ll drive you down as soon you have eaten, okay?” He really was concerned that she put as much substance into her as possible. The doctor told him to make sure she ate at least a bag of this diet per meal. 

 

After registering John in school, Christina went shopping with Paul. She bought him three new pair of jeans, five shirts, an economy pack of six underwear and two pairs of shoes. She liked picking new things for him. The general gave her 500 dollars per month for him to spend for things he needed. Paul liked his new clothes. She wanted to buy him a new jacket as well, but he insisted wearing his old worn out leather jacket. They stopped next at the grocery store and she collected the items she had noted down on a grocery list. She asked him to get toilet paper. When he wasn’t back after a minute, she went to look for him. She found him not far away where people could drop off their film for development. Paul stood there in wonder. When he was working as photographer, nineteen years ago, he was used to putting a roll of film into a camera. That had changed meanwhile. Today a computer was in the store, which developed the pictures immediately the people entered with their memory card. He studied everything in fascination. 

“Can I help you, sir?” an employee asked him while Christina came up to him.

“No, I just wondered how this thing works,” Paul honestly told him. 

“You insert the memory card there,” the man said and waited for Paul to produce it, but saw he had nothing.

“We don’t have a digital camera, yet,” Christina explained, trying to save him out of the situation. “He just hasn’t seen this thing before.” 

“Oh,” the employee answered, thinking Paul was one of those people who lived the last ten years on the moon. “If you want to develop film, we still have those as well.” He showed him the envelopes. 

“Thank you,” Paul answered nicely and the employee left with a smile on his face.

Christina saw at his feet ten packs of toilet paper. “Why did you get ten? I asked you to get just one.” 

“They were on sale. Buy one get one free,” Paul answered her, not understanding why she made such a drama out of this.

“You’re just like Ben,” she said, irritated. “They have sales on another brand of toilet paper next week too. Now bring the other nine back where you found them.”

“You don’t want to get one free?”

“Alright, take the other eight back.”

Like a child being scolded, he wore a disheartened face and did as she told him.

 

They were on the way home.

“You mean the picture the camera takes is stored on the card?” Paul summarized when Christina told him of how digital cameras worked. 

“Yes. You can take the card and enter it into your computer at home. You can make a lot of things with the pictures, because the photo is digital, made out of pixels.”

“Define pixels.”

Christina glanced at Paul while she had to stop at a red light. There were still a lot of unanswered question on his face. “I’ll hook up my computer today and I’ll show you how to use the Internet, okay? You can find a lot of answers to your questions there, probably much more than I can answer about this technical stuff. When the general sends you a used laptop later this week, you can surf the Internet in your room.”

Paul was confused. What was Internet, and why would he want to go surfing? 

Christina saw how her answer had bewildered him and she suddenly understood why. She giggled. “I’ll tell you later about it, okay?”

 

Richard told Jenny all of what Paul had told him yesterday. They agreed he would drive her to the house after lunch, but she couldn’t wait that long. She secretly took his car keys and drove to the address. She rang the bell, but nobody was at home. Now, she wondered if Richard had told her the truth. Jenny was about to climb in the pickup truck again, when she saw the green BMW coming around the corner. Her eyes didn’t betray her. Paul and Christina really sat in the car. The BMW waited for the automatic garage door to go up. Paul opened his car door and climbed out, unable to wait any longer. Meanwhile Jenny came running to him and they met at the end of the driveway. 

“Jenny!” he cried and lifted her up. She barely could speak his name in welcome, because he kissed her on the cheeks, then took her face into his hands and kissed her lips. Paul was so happy to see her, he lifted her up again and spun her around. 

“I couldn’t wait to see you after Richard told me the news,” she said after he had set her down again. “Oh Paul, I’m so happy for you.”

He took her into his arms again. “Me too, but how are you?”

“I’m okay,” she answered and he knew of course it was a lie. 

He didn’t want to think of her health problem at the moment, only that he held her in his arms again. It felt so good to be united once more. Perhaps this time he could enjoy it longer than the last time.

Christina came out of the garage and approached them. She didn’t like it at all that this woman acted as if Paul was her personal property. She greeted Jenny pleasantly, and offered her hand to her, but Jenny refused to shake hands with her. 

“I’ve spoken to your husband, Mrs. Wylie,” Jenny began. “I’m sorry you got the impression with the photo that Ben and me are having an affair. We’re not. He just helped me that day moving out of the cabin. I couldn’t stay there any more alone because of my health.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Christina answered, “but it doesn’t matter any more.” She changed the topic. “Would you please bring the groceries in the house, Paul? I need to talk to Mrs. Hayden alone for a moment.”

Paul wondered what she had to discuss with Jenny, but did what she asked. Christina gave him the keys for the house and asked Jenny to follow her in her new garden. Jenny was surprised how beautiful it was. Before he went to school, John had set up two miniature houses in the middle of a fenced area and used it as shelter for his two guinea pigs. Next to the outdoor cage, Christina had set up the outdoor furniture and there was also a big patio with a barbeque. The female doctor asked Jenny to sit down. 

“Can I offer you anything?” she politely asked, when Paul opened the sliding door to the patio and poked his head through. “Where do you want me to put the groceries?”

“Just set them on the kitchen table and take a seat with us. Bring the orange juice and three glasses, please.”

“No, not for me. It would come up two seconds later,” Jenny said.

“Oh, then maybe something else?”

“No, thank you.” Jenny replied.

When he had brought the juice and they sat at the table, Paul, and especially Jenny were eager to hear what she had to say to her. 

“I assume Mr. Hayward and my husband have told you already about what happened in the last five months. The general decided to give Paul limited freedom. We chose to buy a house close to you so he can see you as often as he wishes. But I want you to understand that this means he’ll live here alone, do you understand?” 

_We’ll see about that_ , Jenny thought, determined this woman would not get in the way of her winning her Starman back. For now though, Jenny nodded and took Paul’s hand. “How often can I see him?”

“I don’t have a schedule worked out yet. I would prefer it be in the afternoon. I could bring him for a couple of hours when I take John, my son, to see Ben. I don’t mind if you want to come to visit him, but it’s also necessary for Paul to learn about life.”

Jenny was satisfied for now, but also sad. They hadn’t let Paul go completely. Christina still had him on her leash. At least he wouldn’t have to live with Mortimer any more, but she wasn’t sure if being supervised by this woman was any better. “I have the weekends off,” Christina continued to tell her. “George Fox volunteered to supervise him then. He has a room of his own on Paul’s level of the house.” 

“I hope he won’t bring his girlfriend with him,” Jenny said, unable to keep her temper under control.

“Pardon me?” Christina asked, irritated over what she said about Mr. Fox.

“Never mind,” Jenny replied and stood up. “I must go now. I didn’t tell Richard I took his car. He will be worried.”

“But you just came. Don’t you want to see my new rooms?” Paul said when he stood up as well. 

“Will I see you today again?” Jenny asked him, impatiently. She suddenly felt very uneasy to be there and just wanted to get out, no matter how glad she was to hear the news that her alien friend became her new neighbor.

Paul looked to Christina and hoped to receive the answer he wanted to hear. 

“I’ll bring him to the ranch this afternoon.”

“When I’m strong enough we can go for a ride,” Jenny proposed, when she saw his saddened eyes over her sudden leave.

“No, he’s not allowed to ride horses. It’s too dangerous,” Christina interrupted. Jenny felt tears coming up. This woman was truly a witch. She ruled over Paul’s life like he was her puppet.

“Says who? You? Richard has three horses trained for use by the mentally and physically disabled for the equine therapy program,” she countered. “Do you know what that means? Those horses have to have the soundest temperament to allow the handicapped to ride them. Paul is safer on those horses than if he was riding a bicycle with training wheels and full protective safety gear. Or have you forbidden him from riding bicycles too, because you’re afraid he’s going to fall and scrape his elbows and knees?” she sneered.

“No, horseback riding,” Christina repeated with finality.

Jenny clenched her fists and ground her teeth in anger. She was now more determined than ever to beat this woman at her game. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself, then said, “Maybe we can go for a walk on the property with Sparky.” This time the other woman said nothing. Jenny put her arms around Paul and they kissed each other good-bye like lovers. Paul was shocked at the intensity of hatred he felt in Jenny for Christina, his keeper, but pushed it aside with effort. She finally lost her fight and tears ran down her face. They separated and she felt embarrassed, like a little girl when they both saw her crying. 

“I’ll see you later,” she said to Paul. “I’ll find the way out by myself,” she retorted crisply to Christina and left. Paul felt lonely when he let go of her hand. 

Christina wanted to give Paul a lesson in cooking before John came home from his new school. He followed her instructions, but his thoughts remained with Jenny. Her and Richard’s relationship, all his new experiences with cooking, shopping and women, and how they fought over him all the time, left him confused. It didn’t sound as if Jenny had returned to her former husband. She sounded as if she still loved him. When John came home, Christina was busy asking him how his new class was and his new teacher. After they ate, she asked Paul to clean up the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher. She showed him how to load and operate the machine. He excused himself later and went up to his room. He felt exhausted and it was no wonder he quickly drifted off to sleep. Christina roused him some time later and said they were ready to drive to the ranch.

Christina and John watched Ben helping his boss with a new horse he had to start. Paul watched for a while too, and then asked if he could see Jenny now. Richard eyed him with jealousy when he saw Paul walking towards his house. 

Paul rang the bell and he heard the dog barking. Some seconds later, Jenny opened the door. 

“Are you feeling strong enough for a walk?” he asked, curious what she would say.

“I guess so. I can’t walk far though, okay?”

 

Sparky was happy that somebody went with him outside. He ran some distance ahead and Paul and Jenny followed behind. She held onto Paul’s arm with both hands. “This is so strange, don’t you think?”

“What?” he asked, not knowing what she meant.

“You and me going for a walk, knowing that nobody wants to catch you or take you away from me. This is such an weird feeling, it’s hard to describe.”

“I know. I feel the same,” Paul replied.

They walked slowly on towards the forest nearby, but still in visual range to the others, when Jenny said, “This is so unfair. We can have a friendship, peace, and I’m going to die.”

Paul stopped and faced her. “You won’t die. Why are you saying such a thing?”

“I feel it, Paul. I don’t have much time.”

He took her hands in his.

“I won’t let you die on me, but you must face the demons of your life and destroy them. They are what cause your problems.”

“I know,” she admitted, “but what can I do? I’m not afraid to die. You died, didn’t you? It’s nothing to be afraid of, only then I can’t see you any more and that’s what’s troubles me. Oh Paul, I hated you for surrendering when they shot our son, but I must tell you also that I can’t stop loving you.”

She looked up to him, hoping he would kiss her. He did and then she leaned her head into his chest.

“I wished I could heal you with the sphere, but I can’t. I feel so helpless.”

“And I wish to see my son one more time before God calls me home,” she said, again fighting with her tears. 

“Where is he, Jenny?” 

“Far away. We’ll never see him again. I don’t want him to come back, because I don’t know if they won’t change their opinion regarding your limited freedom. I still don’t trust them.”

“But you know where he is and you can contact him, don’t you?” he wanted to know. 

“Yes, I can contact him in an emergency.”

“Then tell him about the news and that he should come back. I could talk to him and make him understand.”

“No Paul, I won’t tell you how you can reach him. They could force you to tell them when you know and Scott would lose his cover. I’m sorry.”

“But he should know,” he began again. “Did you tell him about your condition?”

She shook her head no.

“He should know about it.”

She didn’t answer. She continued walking. He followed when he saw she didn’t wait for him. When he caught up to her, she sought his support again.

“Things have changed, Jenny. I know it was me who encouraged him to leave the country when our escape plan shouldn’t have worked, but I think he wants to know about you.”

“Perhaps,” was all she answered.

“I saw him when I was dead. He was on a boat with a woman.”

She stopped and looked at him, surprised how much he knew about Scott’s whereabouts.

“You saw him?”

“Yes. He was asleep on a boat and he shared a bed with a woman.”

“He did?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“I guess so. I didn’t know he had a girlfriend. I spoke to him only once after he left.”

Jenny said she wanted to go back and they turned around. Soon they were almost home again.

“Paul, I have another wish before I die.”

“Stop talking like that,” he ordered. “I don’t want you to constantly think of dying.”

She liked how he was concerned. 

“I want you to marry me,” she proposed.

Now that was news! He faced her, shocked somehow, and Jenny smiled.

“What will Richard say when we marry? He’s jealous of me. I don’t think they will let me have a wife. I can have sex with you, but they won’t allow you to move into the new house.” 

Jenny was disappointed. A moment ago she felt so happy, but Paul had destroyed her secret dreams.

“I know, I know! Just forget it, okay? I thought you had the same dream I do. I’m sorry, I won’t bother you again about it.”

Paul felt how hurt she was. “I do have the same dream as you, JennyHayden. I want to marry you too, but right now they won’t let me.”

“I’m going to lay down a bit. I feel tired. Can you walk the dog back to the stable? Richard will bring him back when it’s time for dinner.”

Paul felt he was being pushed into a direction he didn’t want to go. In the distance he heard Christina calling his name, wanting him to come back with her into town.

“Can I see you tomorrow?” he asked at last, hoping she would agree. 

“I’ll wait for you.”

She smiled and seemed less depressed than a few moments ago. They kissed each other good-bye and separated when Paul heard Christina calling him a second time in an annoyed tone.

 

That evening Christina told her son about the baby she was going to have in seven months. John wasn’t happy to hear the news. The separation of his parents was very difficult for him, and now his mother told him he’d have a sibling shortly. John was angry that he wouldn’t be his mother’s only baby any more. He began crying and Christina was not prepared for his reaction. 

“I don’t want the baby. Give it back!” he sobbed in her arms while she stroked his head and held him tight. Instead of calming down, his cries became louder. Paul was in the kitchen and listened as best he could to the conversation between mother and son. He wondered if Scott had ever reacted like this to his and Jenny’s leaving him. Probably. It hurt. He went to them and brought a pack of tissues with him. 

“You’ll be always my baby, John,” Christina told him. “I’ll always love you. You’ll be so proud to be the big brother of the baby. You can teach him or her everything. You don’t need to be sad.” 

John kept on sobbing.

“Why are you so angry about your mother having another child?” Paul asked the child, not understanding why he made such a drama out of it. He handed the boy the tissues. John became wild when he heard the question, took the box from Paul and threw it back at him. 

“I don’t want you either!” the seven-year-old yelled. “I want my daddy back. Go away! I hate you!” 

“John!” Christina reproached. “Behave yourself!” 

His mother’s shouting hurt him and he sobbed now stronger than ever before.

“I want my daddy back!” the boy screamed and broke free of Christina’s embrace, running to his room, slamming the door.

She immediately went to his bedroom and opened the door, going inside. Paul followed her, but stayed just outside. “Oh John,” she said with a heavy heart and kissed his head. He turned away from her on his bed. She sat down on the bed behind him. “I’m so sorry for you,” she said and rolled him over, gently taking his chin in her hand, forcing him to look at her. “You can see your father as often as possible, but I can’t promise you that he’ll move back here with us. It isn’t Paul’s fault that your dad walked out on us. You can’t blame him for that. Now say how sorry you are to Paul about telling him such nasty things!”

The boy saw the Starman standing at the entrance to his room and said, “I’m sorry,” in a humbled voice.

Paul came in and sat down on the opposite side of John’s bed. He squeezed the boy’s shoulder as a gesture of reconciliation. “Don’t be angry at me, John. Let’s be friends.”

John nodded and accepted the tissues Paul offered him again. Like a big boy, he took one out and blew his nose. Christina watched while her irritated boy changed back into becoming the good boy she knew he was. The situation wasn’t easy for her, not to mention for the child. Difficult times still lay ahead of her once her attention had to be divided by two children and one adult kid.

###    
**Chapter 8**  


“Hurry up, Paul!” Christina cried the next morning from the first level of the house, after she had dismissed her son to school. The doorbell rang. She went to answer it. In front of the door stood George Fox with two suitcases and two boxes.

“Oh, what a surprise! I didn’t expect you until the end of this week. Come in!” she welcomed her former boss. Mr. Fox had been in the house before when she and General Ryder were scouting it out, but he never saw it furnished. He looked around, impressed.

“Hi Christina, how are you?” he asked friendly and put his things in the corridor.

“Fine, I was just going to drive with Paul down to Santa Barbara to take the test for his drivers permit,” she informed him. “Do you want to come with us?”

“Sure, I can furnish my room later,” he replied. “Where is he?”

“Upstairs,” she said and cried again upstairs, “Paul! Hurry! We have a guest!”

“How is he doing?” Mr. Fox wanted to know, before Paul came downstairs and they had no opportunity to talk.

“Okay, so far I guess. We‘ve been to the ranch and have informed everybody about the new changes. Everybody was of course surprised.”

“Where there any problems with him?” he wanted to know, a little concerned if the project would work. Christina shook her head no. She wanted to talk some more, but they heard Forrester coming down the stairs. When Paul saw his former enemy, and keeper, he was surprised. Nobody had informed him about his coming early. He wasn’t expected before Friday.

“Mr. Fox, it’s nice to see you,” he welcomed him and they shook hands. “You look well,” the Starman admitted. The man had changed. He radiated a cheerfulness which he had never seen on him before. Was it the retirement or having a girlfriend? He didn’t care. It was just amazing how friendly and calm the man had become.

“Forrester,” Fox said simply in welcome. “I am well, thank you. I was extremely disturbed when General Ryder told me you had died and Dr. Mortimer and Christina worked feverishly to bring you back. Are you feeling better since he decided to give you limited freedom?”

“I guess so,” Paul answered, not knowing exactly what he wanted to hear.

“I guess so?” Fox repeated. “You don’t sound very happy. What’s the matter?”

Paul just looked away and shrugged. Fox guessed Forrester didn’t want to talk with him about his problems right now. He showed patience, something he would have never done before his retirement and allowed Paul to approach him some time later, when he was ready to talk.

“I’ll bring my stuff upstairs and then we can go,” he said. “I have a lot of things for you in one of the boxes, Forrester!” 

“Things?” Paul asked, now curious. He helped Fox bring the suitcases and the two boxes upstairs. Meanwhile George went through the upstairs rooms and inspected everything.

“Yes, your things,” George replied when he was finished. “You’ll be surprised!” He smiled and that confused Paul. The man had really changed. Why was he so friendly and treating him so differently than before?

George saw his bewilderment and changed the topic. “I heard the general wants you to have a drivers license. So come, let’s go!”

 

George and Christina drove Paul to the office where he had to answer some questions from the brochure Christina had brought him not long ago. The test wasn’t very hard. He passed with a perfect score. Later he had to take a road test with a driving instructor to show he could steer a car and obey the rules of the road too. It had been a long time since he sat behind the steering wheel, but he passed this test as well. When they came out of the office, he had a brand new drivers license. Since they were already in Santa Barbara, they went to lunch and landed in the restaurant where Paul once ate together with Scott and Eric Kendall, the other Forrester’s son the real Paul Forrester never knew of. Paul looked through the room and remembered. Almost nothing had changed there. They still had the same wall painting with a pelican and the beach in the middle of the restaurant. The waitress came to the table and took their orders. George and Christina ordered their food and when it was Paul’s turn, he came out of his daydream. He gave the woman his selection. 

“What is it?” Christina asked him, a little curious. “Since we came into this restaurant you seem to be off in another world somewhere.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied. “I’ve been in this restaurant before. It was many, many years ago with two boys who didn’t like each other. One was Scott, and the other one was the real Paul Forrester’s son, Eric. He was fifteen at the time. His mother never told Forrester that she was pregnant and married someone else. The boy found out about his heritage after the helicopter crash and found me when we were in town. He wanted to come with us.”

“How did the story end?” Fox asked, while the waitress brought their beverages. “Why does the story sound so familiar? It was mentioned in Jenny’s book, wasn’t it?” George knew suddenly where he had read it. “Yes, the boy wanted to travel with you, but in the end he stayed with the folks who raised him. It was a good story.”

“It isn’t a story. It really happened,” Paul reminded him. “The boy is a young man now, a year older than Scott to be exact. I wonder what happened to him.”

“Have you heard from Scott?” Fox wanted to know. The extraterrestrial’s son was more important to him than the other young man. 

“I can’t tell you,” Paul answered. “I want to know myself, but Jenny didn’t tell me. She’s afraid when I know, you will force me to say where he is.”

Mr. Fox chuckled. “The woman amazes me over and over. Tell her the government is not interested in him any more as long we have you.” 

“I’ll tell her, but she’s protecting him. I would be careful in her place as well.”

The waitress brought their food before George had opportunity to ask him more about Scott Hayden’s whereabouts. Christina wanted to hear about the book project he was working on together with his girlfriend. 

“Sylvie is finishing the last chapters. She left the stories mostly as they were, only she changed the success of the two agents. The alien guy escapes them all the time because he simply vanishes. In the original text, Jenny described us as total idiots. We weren’t able to catch Forrester here because either other people helped him or he did something weird.” 

Christina broke out in suppressed laughter and had a problem keeping her outbreak as quiet as possible. Paul and George looked at her. Paul didn’t understand the punch line. George knew it of course and looked annoyed. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Fox, really I am,” she apologized, “but that’s exactly how it was.”

George was offended for a little while, but later he told them when they were ready, they wanted to propose to Jenny she publish the book again with the changes Sylvie had written.

 

They were sitting in Christina’s car again when George asked, “Does the general want to offer him his own car?”

“We haven’t talked about it yet. What do you think?” she countered and looked to Fox sitting next to her. He shrugged. “We don’t need to decide it now.”

Paul didn’t want to interfere. Having his own car would be great, but where else would he go but to the ranch? During the drive home, Fox asked how the others were. She told him everything, even about Ben and his reaction to the baby. Surprisingly to Paul, George just laughed when she told him Ben had accused Forrester of being the father of her child. Paul thought Fox would be angry and have his doubts, but it seemed that Christina had his fullest trust and respect. 

When they arrived home, George went upstairs to furnish his room. Half an hour later John came home from school. The boy was a little shy around Mr. Fox. For him it was another face he had to get used to. The boy had eaten lunch in school. So Christina helped John doing his homework. 

Mr. Fox came downstairs with a medium-sized cardboard box and put it on the kitchen table. He emptied it. In the box were various items Fox had collected over the years, mainly photographs of Paul and Scott, when he chased them from town to town, and a lot of papers, memories he kept from his travels. When Paul approached the table, he saw one of his old cameras Fox had confiscated over the year he hunted him down. He took it in his hands and opened the back to see if the film was still in it. It was empty.

“You can have all of that back,” Mr. Fox explained. “It was in my office all the time, and when I retired I took it with me.” 

Paul set the camera down and looked at the pictures. There were the two photos Fox always used when he asked people if they had seen Forrester and his son. Paul was emotionally moved and had to sit down when he looked at them. It was a good likeness of himself. Someone had taken it when he was daydreaming again. When he looked at Scott’s picture he felt a tightness in his heart. Scott was such an attractive teenager back then. He was thirteen, fourteen years old at the most, by the looks of it, just as Paul liked to remember him, but his boy had changed. He was a man now. The features of his face still remained the same over the years. His warm, charming dark eyes and his smile could lighten any girl’s heart. 

“I miss him,” he said aloud and was surprised that his thought came out verbally. 

Fox hadn’t seen that the Starman was so moved. Instead, he looked at some old hotel receipts, almost twenty years old. He went through a file and put some more pictures on the table. Paul put the larger pictures down and picked up the smaller ones. One was of Jenny holding her newborn in the hospital. He turned the photo and read what was written on the back. He could only read the date: Scott’s birthday. 

“This is the first time I’ve seen these,” he said, happy and at the same time moved to the brink of tears. “Where did you get these?”

“Collected over the years,” George answered and went through more receipts. 

Meanwhile, Paul was holding a baby picture in hand. He assumed it was Scott, but he wasn’t sure. The child was wrapped in blankets, only the tiny face was seen and a lot of black hair. He was surprised that Scott had so much hair as a newborn. Paul flipped the picture to read the back, but there was nothing there. 

“Is this my son?” he asked George, who was still busy reading something and amused about what he read there. He looked up. “Yes, right after he was born.”

Paul brought the picture closer to his eyes. _Boy, Scott had a lot of hair on his head at his birth_ , he thought. “Can I keep these?” he then asked, interrupting Mr. Fox again.

“Yes, you can keep all of this stuff. I don’t need it any more.”

“Thank you,” Paul said and asked, “What about the camera?”

“Do with it what you want,” George answered. 

 

Christina felt a little tired and went to take a nap. Both adults remained with the boy. John was bored after a while and went in the garden. Paul and George followed and George tried his best to win the boy’s friendship. He followed him to his guinea pigs, which he kept in a small fenced area with two miniature houses in the middle. At the moment they were outside of their houses because Christina had brought them salad greens not long ago.

“And these are yours?” George asked. John liked it that the man showed interest in his animals. He stepped over the fence and picked up one. Very carefully and responsible for his age, he offered to let Fox hold it.

“This is Rosaline. The other one is Carry,” he proudly said. “Do you want to hold one too, Paul?”

George hesitantly accepted and went with the animal to sit in a chair. Paul had seen the animals, but hadn’t yet been able to watch them for a longer time. When he took a look yesterday, they were inside their house. He enjoyed watching the furry little creatures, and John brought the other one to him as soon as he took a seat next to Mr. Fox.

“Thank you, John,” Paul said when he stroked Carry. Both guinea pigs were the same breed and looked identical. “How do you know which one is which?”

John was delighted that he was the expert there and could inform the two grownups. “Carry has a white spot on her nose,” he replied, “and the other one is heavier.” 

Paul liked to stroke the animal. His pig made funny noises and he smiled. 

“She loves being held and petted. These are very interesting creatures, don’t you think?” Paul asked his neighbor who held the other one. Meanwhile, George’s pig made the same noises.

“Yes,” John interfered. “It’s a shame they are used as lab animals. Mom told me about it.”

Paul’s face suddenly darkened. “Yes, a shame. Humans can be cruel to other beings,” he said. George gave him a strange look when he heard his last words. Paul continued. “But yours are treated well and they love how you care for them.”

“They do?” John asked and giggled a little. “How do you know?”

“Because they told me,” Paul answered and looked at the boy with a bright smile.

“You’re funny,” the child replied, somehow happy that he finally found someone who shared his love for his pets. 

While they were in the garden, the doorbell rang and Christina got up to open the door. To her surprise Ben stood in front of her.

“Hi,” he greeted her. “Can I come in?” 

She gestured him to enter. “What do you want?”

“It’s my day off and I thought I’d come down to take a look at your new place and visit my son. Is that all right?”

“Sure, John’s in the garden with Paul,” Christina informed him. “Mr. Fox is here too.” 

She showed him the way. Ben looked through the rooms. He hoped she would show him more of the house, but it seemed at the moment she wasn’t in the mood. When Ben saw the furniture, which he recognized, and all the familiar photos on the wall he experienced a odd feeling. It felt like he belonged there and on the other hand he felt like a stranger too. 

“Dad’s here,” Christina yelled to John in the garden and John, Paul and George looked at her. Then Ben’s silhouette appeared in the doorframe. 

“Daddy!” the boy exclaimed happily and ran to him. Meanwhile, Mr. Fox and Paul returned the two guinea pigs to their pen. Ben picked his son up and came to them. Christina followed.

“Hi Ben. We haven’t seen each other for a long time,” Mr. Fox said when they shook hands. “How are you?”

“You look good,” he said, “How’s Sylvie?”

“Fine, thank you.” 

Wylie welcomed Paul and they shook hands. “How’re you doing?”

“Good.”

“I have a message for you from Jenny,” Ben said and Paul was instantly curious. “She said she wasn’t feeling so good. She said you better not come up today.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Paul sadly answered. When Ben saw his troubled face he remembered the second message Jenny had for him. “She wanted to give you a call, but she didn’t have your phone number. It would be nice if you would give it to me. Do you have a cell phone where Jenny can reach you?”

Still worried over Jenny’s condition, he shook his head no. Christina saw his expression and said, “I’ll give you the phone number from the house. She can call here next time and you can give me her number as well.”

Ben asked his son what he wanted to do the rest of the afternoon and they decided, because of the warm weather, to use their new swimming pool. Mr. Fox went inside and helped Paul hook up his new laptop the general had sent him. Ryder wanted Paul to send him his own reports from now on. When the computer was online, George explained to Paul how to use the program to send and receive e-mails. Later, Christina came and helped to create an e-mail-address for Paul. Actually, Forrester was interested learning what the Internet was all about and how to use a computer, but his focus remained basically on Jenny and her message. He was troubled because of the news and they all saw that his mind was on her. With Christina’s and Mr. Fox’s help, Paul wrote General Ryder his first message. 

“Now enter General Ryder’s e-mail address in the ‘to’ box,” Mr. Fox told him and gave it to him. 

Paul typed the general’s first name using one finger at first, entered the dot and wrote the last name in the same manner. He hesitated when he had to write the @. He could see the sign on the keyboard, but didn’t know how to make the computer print it on the screen. Instead, he ended up writing just the letter without the circle. 

“I’ve written the ‘a’, but how do I make the computer make the curl around it?” he asked the two experts. Both George and Christina chuckled. 

“Hold the shift key down just like when you want to do a capital letter and type the number 2 key,” George said, amused. He was fascinated that Forrester knew nothing of typing or computers.

When they had taught him what cc and bcc was about, they left him alone for a few minutes, hoping he was occupied enough with his letter to the general. Paul thought how much of his worries he should share with the general. Then he decided that he couldn’t tell him what was bothering him. The problem was too complex. Instead he wrote some words and pressed the “send” button, as his two teachers had instructed him to proceed. Paul got up and went to his balcony. He heard Ben and John playfully screaming and having fun in the pool. He watched them for some time, his thoughts still with Jenny, when Christina came back.

“And what have you written?” she wanted to know.

Paul entered in the room when he heard her. She sat down and checked the computer. When she saw he had sent the message already she was a little disappointed that he hadn’t allowed her to read the e mail first. When she checked the outgoing mail she was irritated by the shortness of the letter. 

“Dear General Ryder, I’m very thankful you allowed me to have limited freedom and our house is very beautiful. I’m fine. Thank you for the computer. With best regards, Paul Forrester,” she repeated the message verbally and craned her neck to Paul. “That’s all? You could have done better. It’s very short for a man who should be very grateful, don’t you think?”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “At the moment I’m not in the mood to write letters. My thoughts are with Jenny. I’m worried about her.”

“I’m sorry she’s so ill, but what can we do to help?”

“I guess nothing. Isn’t it ironic? All I wanted is to be with her, and now that we can see each other practically every day, she’s going to die. This time she’s the one who will leave me - forever.”

“Is it so bad yet?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know how I can help her when she doesn’t want to start fighting it.”

Mr. Fox had heard the conversation from the doorway and entered the room. “If you want Forrester, I’ll go with you this evening to see her, okay?”

“She said I shouldn’t come today. I don’t want to upset her.”

“I don’t think a visit will do that. I think it would help her.”

Paul nodded.

“Now that you’ve gotten that out of the way,” Christina said, “there are some ground rules you must follow regarding the computer, Paul. Pay attention and listen to me.”

He emptied his mind temporarily of Jenny and focused on Mrs. Wiley.

“We, meaning Mr. Fox or I, want to read all your correspondence to General Ryder before you send it. Is that understood?”

“Yes.” He was going to object, saying she was invading his privacy, but kept silent.

“Okay. Next, using the Internet carries a big responsibility, Paul. This little machine can get you into a lot of trouble if you aren’t very careful. There are a lot of malicious people out there, just looking to get sensitive personal information from unsuspecting innocent people like you. They’ll use that information and destroy you. You must be very careful not to divulge any personal information like your Social Security number, credit card or debit card number, bank account numbers, etc. It can all be linked to your e-mail account. Do you understand?”

He nodded.

“Identity theft by computer is the largest growing crime there is right now,” George said. “They can steal your identity and totally mess up your life. It can take, months or even years to straighten out the mess. Everything is linked one way or another to something else, and it’ll start a domino effect.“ 

George noticed Paul turn pale and asked what was wrong. Had Forrester done something already potentially dangerous?

“I stole Paul Forrester’s identity,” Paul admitted, afraid. “That makes me a criminal.”

George and Christina smiled and visibly relaxed after hearing Paul’s admission. 

“Technically speaking, yes, it does,” Fox told him. “You took his name, date of birth, Social Security number and birth location, but in your special case, we’re dismissing that and making it legal. Okay?” 

General Ryder, Fox and Mrs. Wiley all discussed whether Paul should be issued a new Social Security number, but decided in the end to let him keep the original Forrester’s number. There was just too much to explain to other government agencies, like the IRS for example, that it was better to leave things as they were.

Paul was relieved. 

“Next,” Christina said. “The Internet is the biggest home shopping store on the planet. I noticed how much you liked watching the home shopping channel on TV. The Internet is almost like the home shopping channel. You can find virtually anything on the net just by visiting different websites. But, just because you see something, like it and want it, that doesn’t mean you have permission to buy it. Is that clear?” She continued before he could answer her. “I told you General Ryder gave you a 500 dollar a month allowance for things you need. The key word here, Paul, is need. You will need to distinguish between what you need and what you only want. If there is something you wish to buy online, you ask either of us first. We will let you know whether you can buy it or not. If we need the general’s permission, we’ll discuss it with him. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” Paul answered. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed by his first lesson in using the Internet and the computer. He even felt a little afraid now to use the machine. George and Christina suspected as much after giving him their warnings. Mrs. Wiley took the initiative to calm his worries. 

“You have asked me about pixels. Let’s surf the net and see what we can find out about that, okay? C’mon. Don’t be scared. George and I will show you how to look for information.” They spent the next hour finding out the answer before George showed Paul how to shut down the computer.

 

Ben and his son spent all afternoon together and they were in a happy mood when Ben said good-bye to him. When he said good-bye to Christina, he didn’t know how to address her. “Are you coming Saturday with John? A couple of kids are coming to make a outdoor ride.”

“Why not?” she answered. “Perhaps he can learn to ride on one of the ponies.” Ben wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Mr. Fox and Paul who came downstairs.

“Wait!” Fox said. “Can you take Paul with you to the ranch? I’ll get him - let’s say in an hour, okay?”

“Okay,” Ben answered calmly, but surprised that he was allowing Paul to go the ranch all alone. He and Christina looked inquiringly at each other. Paul looked as if he hadn’t heard right and the former agent confirmed it again. “Only if it is all right with you, of course, Christina. It’s just for one hour. We have to start somewhere to let him earn our confidence.”

For a long time the woman looked at Paul, thinking over everything that could happen in the hour when he was not guarded. But she allowed him to go for a walk with Jenny the other day too. At least there though, she was able to see him all the time while they strolled over the property.

“Okay, Paul. We’ll be there in an hour.” 

 

When they were in the car riding to the ranch, Ben asked Paul, “Did you influence George to let you go with me to the ranch?” He was surprised over the fact that both, Mr. Fox and Christina, let him go unguarded.

“No, really, I didn’t,” Paul answered honestly.

“Why do you want to go up there anyway? I told you she isn’t feeling good today.”

“I just want to see her. That’s all. I love her.”

Ben said nothing. Paul eyed him for a long moment and then asked, “Have you talked to your wife?”

“Why should I?” Wylie snapped back.

“I see so much confusion and anger in you,” the Starman began speaking softly to him, “But deep inside you still love her. And I know you love your son deeply. If it weren’t for the unborn baby of hers, I think you would have returned to your family.”

Ben didn’t like the way the conversation went. Paul had no notion how the man felt or how a marriage worked. “Don’t start with that now, okay?” Wylie said. He wasn’t finished. “I still don’t think that I’m the father of her unborn child.”

“Well, I know I’m not the father.”

They arrived and Ben stopped the car. Before he climbed out he faced the Starman once more. “I don’t know what to believe any more,” he said, despaired and desperate. “In the last couple of months so much has changed. I have changed too. I don’t know any more if I love her. And now she’s telling me that she’s pregnant, just when I didn’t need to hear it. Sometimes it seems she wants to punish me for leaving her.”

“It’s hard for her too. I know that although she’s a strong woman, and doesn’t want to admit that she needs you. You better start to face the facts, Ben. That’s my personal advise to you. Talk to her.”

Ben went into the stable and Paul went toward Richard’s house.

 

This afternoon Jenny felt miserable and had to vomit twice. Richard stayed the whole afternoon with her and they spoke what they could do to make her feel better. She didn’t want to start chemotherapy, but she knew she couldn’t just wait for death either. He talked to her about starting an expensive alternative therapy with a Chinese doctor, who he had heard of, that practiced Eastern medicine. The doctor lived in San Francisco and had a place there where he treated cases like Jenny’s. It was for those people who wanted to treat their illness in another way than it was done generally. He was desperate and knew he had to do something. 

“You need help, Jenny,” he said when he stroked the suffering woman. “I don’t care how much this treatment costs. I’ll pay for it.”

“No!” she said. “I don’t want you to pay for it. You don’t have to, Richard.”

“You mean you won’t accept my money because we aren’t married any more, or is there any other reason?”

She was silent and didn’t answer the question. He knew it was hard enough for her that she had to come back in his house, that she was forced to accept his assistance when she needed it. Her condition did not allow her to live alone in the cabin any longer. 

“I know you hate it when I say it, but Paul is not the only one who loves you. I do too. I know I love you more as you love me, but I don’t care. My advantage is that I’ve lived with you ten years longer than he did and I don’t want to lose you.”

“No, that’s not the reason, Richard, “ she replied. “I’m thankful for you taking me into your house and caring for me as if you were still my husband. It’s just...”

“You prefer him over me. I get the message, honey,” he finished her sentence and stood up. “I’m going to call that doctor in San Francisco now and will ask when I can bring you.”

 

Richard talked to the physician and they scheduled starting the treatment for the beginning of next week. He was almost finished talking over the details when he heard the doorbell. Sparky barked and it disturbed him. He couldn’t silence the dog and went to open the door, but still talked on the cell phone. He gestured for Paul to enter the house with a wave of his hand and Paul followed him. Forrester’s eyes searched for Jenny in the living room, but she wasn’t there, so he occupied the dog while the other man was on the phone. When the telephone conversation ended, Richard welcomed his guest and was surprised when he learned they allowed him to come up alone. He told Forrester what the conversation was all about. 

“How much does this treatment cost?” Paul wanted to know.

“More than you can afford, buddy,” Richard answered his question in a snippety tone. “She didn’t want me to call the doctor because she could never pay me back.”

“I understand,” Paul said and stood up to look at a picture on the wall, which he had never seen before. It was Richard and Scott together with a horse. 

“Can you contact him to tell him what happened to me and his mother?” he asked after a while.

“What do you mean?”

Paul turned to face the man. “She told me she wants to see him once more before she dies.”

“Hold your horses, man!” Richard said a little irritated and came to stand in front of him. “She won’t die, will she?”

Paul looked him in his eyes. “Not if she hasn’t given up yet. They are very close to each other and he should know that his mother is so ill.”

“But Jenny doesn’t want me to contact him.”

“So you do know how to contact him?”

“Yes, I do,” the rancher admitted. “But it was agreed only to call him in case of an absolute emergency.”

“If this isn’t an emergency then what is?” Paul asked, confused.

“All right, all right,” Mr. Hayward said. “I’ll call him. Wait here, okay.” 

Richard went in the bedroom to check if Jenny was awake. She was finally asleep and she didn’t wake up, although he softly called her name. Carefully and silently, he closed the door again and came back to where his guest waited. He took a seat beside Paul and grabbed his cell phone. Paul watched him dial a number that he had carefully memorized. Both men were excited and Paul looked anxiously at the man sitting beside him. He was so tense he had to remind himself to breathe. Richard heard the phone ringing and the voice mail answering machine. He spoke after the recorded message. 

“Yeah, hi, this is Richard. Can you please give me a call when you hear this? It’s important. It’s about your mother. A lot of things have happened lately, weird things you won’t believe, but a friend of mine said I should give you a call about it. So please call back, okay? Bye.”

“What did he say?” Paul asked as soon as Richard closed the cell phone. 

“Only the mailbox was on.”

“What does that mean?” he asked further.

“It means that he hasn’t answered the phone and I only spoke to the answering machine,” Richard explained.

“Will he call back?” Paul asked again, still anxious.

“We must wait.” He looked at his watch. “South Europe has a 12 hour time difference to us. It’s 4:30 in the morning there.”

“I see,” Forrester said, forcing himself not to ask too many more questions. Richard eyed him for a moment, then smiled.

“Why are you here anyway? To see Jenny?”

Paul nodded. 

“She had a bad day today. She’s sleeping at the moment.” Richard saw Paul’s disappointed face. He continued, “I have to look after the horses. Do you want to come along?”

He agreed and they left the house together with the dog. 

 

Richard opened the paddock and whistled to the horses. They lifted their heads and came slowly towards the gate.

“How’s Fly?” Paul asked when he saw the horse in the herd.

“Oh fine,” the rancher answered, smiling when he saw how healthy and happy his mares seemed to be. 

“If you want, we could go for a ride tomorrow. I need to control the fences and my horses need a rider on their back now and then.”

The horses strolled towards them and Richard and Paul went in front, accompanied by Jenny’s dog, to lead them into the stable. 

“They won’t allow me to ride. They said it’s too dangerous.” 

“Are you serious?” 

“Yes.”

“I have some of the safest horses in the country here! We use them for therapy for the physically and mentally handicapped.”

“Yes, I know. Jenny told us yesterday.”

“Who said it was too dangerous to ride?”

Paul said he presumed it was Christina and General Ryder who made the decision.

“Well, I’ll just have to have a talk with her,” Richard said, feeling very offended.

Forrester smiled. “You can try. Jenny did and she still said no.”

“Then I’ll go over her head to this General Ryder. Do you know his phone number? I’ll call him right now.”

Paul said he was sorry, but he didn’t know it. “I do have his e-mail address though,” he offered.

“Good. Give it to me. No one’s going to tell me my horses are too dangerous to ride!” Richard exclaimed.

Forrester was touched by this man’s offer to win him this one small concession, but he said, “Maybe you should just forget it. I can live without riding a horse.”

“Well, I can’t! This is an insult to my work and me. Please give me his address, Paul,” he asked calmly. Forrester hesitated. “You do want to ride again, don’t you?” he asked, wondering if he’d made a mistake.

“Yes. I enjoyed it.”

“Then give it to me. I promise I’ll do my best to see they don’t reprimand you for asking this favor.”

Paul gave him Ryder’s address.

“I’ll e-mail him tonight.”

When they reached the stable, every mare went in the stall which belonged to her. They knew corn and hay waited for them. Richard only needed to close the door. Paul did the same on the other side. 

“At least they brought you here to live close to your friends. You can come up here any time, okay?” Richard said and squeezed Paul’s shoulder, until he saw a little smile appear on Paul’s face. They heard a car coming up the driveway. Some moments later, they saw it was Fox who sat behind the wheel.

“Didn’t you say he’ll get you in one hour? This was a short hour, don’t you think?”

Paul only shrugged and waited patiently until Fox got out of the car and approached them. They greeted each other.

“Are you ready to go?” George asked, but his tone said he didn’t want to hear no. 

“Let’s go,” Paul said and shook hands with Richard, as did George. At that moment, the cell phone in Richard’s pants pocket rang, and when he pulled it out and saw the number on the display, his attitude changed rapidly.

“I’m sorry, I need to answer this. Will you please excuse me?” he said and went towards the house. 

Sparky started to follow him. He began speaking on the way and they only saw how he and the dog disappeared behind the door. Fox just shook his head and asked himself why the rancher was suddenly so unfriendly and left them standing there without further words. Paul looked for a long time at the closed door of Hayward’s house. He knew who Richard was speaking to on the phone. He only felt sorry that he couldn’t ask him about Scott’s reactions after hearing the news.

###    
**Chapter 9**  


The next day was unusually hot for this time of the year. In the morning Christina went to her doctor to get a pregnancy check up. Paul and George stayed at home. The phone rang. When George answered it, General Ryder was on the line and they talked for a very long time. Forrester sat on the sofa and tried to concentrate on a medical book he found in Christina’s living room. She had kept the book from her college days training to become a doctor. He found it very interesting, but it was hard to concentrate when George spoke so loudly on the phone. Several times he became angry and it seemed he fought with the general. Paul didn’t know exactly what they argued over, but he knew it was about him. Still with the phone to his ear, George got up and went outside in the garden. Paul asked if he should start preparing some lunch, but Mr. Fox didn’t hear him, too busy with his conversation. When the phone conversation had ended, he was in a very bad mood. Silently, Fox ate the sandwiches the Starman had prepared for him. Paul didn’t dare ask what the general said. When Christina came back, she entered the house together with John. She was happy to be home. The heat outside had strained her.

“Mom, can I go swimming today?” the boy asked, and his mother allowed him to play in the pool, as soon as he had eaten and did his homework. 

Paul felt that George waited for Christina so that he could tell her something. He knew of course it was about him, so to give them some privacy he said he would go in the garden to find a place for the plants he had moved in pots to the new house. They both let him go. 

Christina needed to help John with his homework after he had eaten his lunch. A half hour later the boy was done with his task and came out of his room in his swimwear. Since he wasn’t yet taught in swimming, she fastened inflatable rings to his arms and put an air tube around his waist. She wanted to keep an eye on both her son and Paul, while she cleaned up the kitchen. George followed her, patiently waiting for an opportunity to tell her the news.

“The general called me today,” he started. “I have two things to tell you. First, the general said he got an angry e-mail from Richard Hayward demanding he let Forrester ride his horses.”

Christina swung her head to face him and then looked at Paul planting his flowers in the garden. A frown appeared on her face. “Yes? What did he say? I presume he said no.”

“No, he said yes. Forrester can ride. It seems Mr. Hayward convinced the general we may have gone a little bit overboard restricting Forrester’s recreational activities. He said Forester can ride only the horses they use for the disabled though.”

She looked at Fox, a little deflated at having lost some of her control over Paul. “Alright, one of us can tell him later. What else did the general say?”

“He said he’s eventually thinking of releasing Forrester completely after a year.”

Christina started laughing. “Is he crazy or what? First he’s keeping him imprisoned for nearly twenty years in confined isolation and now after telling him he’s doing good in another environment he wants to let him go?”

“I told him the same thing, but he said the incident with Paul’s death shocked him so much that he doesn’t want to risk losing him again.”

“I don’t know what General Ryder’s problems are,” she said. “I only think that he should come here and see how Paul’s doing himself. Forrester is now as happy as he can be. The general must see that Paul still has a lot to learn and needs to be supervised all the time.”

The door chime rang. Christina went to answer it and George followed her, feeling that they hadn’t talked about everything enough.

“Oh, Hi,” Christina greeted Jenny, who stood in front of the door. As soon Jennifer had seen her worst enemy appearing in the doorframe, she wanted to leave. Christina saw her reaction and didn’t know what she could do to help. “I assume you came to visit Paul. He’s in the garden. Please come in.” 

Jenny fought with herself for a moment, but her will to see Paul won over. She entered the house cautiously as soon George stepped aside for her to pass in the door. “How are you feeling today, Mrs. Hayden? We heard you were not feeling so good yesterday.”

“It’s much better today,” she replied a little stiffly. “I have a message for you from your husband, Mrs. Wiley. He said if you don’t mind, he wants to visit you after work.”

Christina was a little surprised over the news, because Ben never wanted to visit her since she lived here. “No, I don’t mind at all.” 

Jenny wanted only to get to Paul, but George Fox stood in the way. “Sylvie tried to give you a call yesterday. She wants you to come in her office about the book. She wants to show you the edited version.”

His words angered her. “Tell her I don’t want to see her and I don’t want to publish a book that she’s turned into a total lie!” she answered hotly. She fought the tears that threatened to come. “I’m sorry, but can I see Paul now?” 

Christina showed her the way through the living room to the patio and opened the sliding door for her. She saw the child jumping with the air ring around his hips in the water, swimming to the edge and climbing out. Paul was kneeling nearby and planted his flowers into the earth.

“There is another thing I wanted to ask you, Mrs. Wylie,” Jenny asked, suddenly remembering the talk she had today with Richard. “Yesterday Mr. Hayward had invited Paul to go with him on a ride.”

“Yes. General Ryder called today and said it was okay, but only on the horses Mr. Hayward uses for the disabled. No other horses.”

“Thank you,” Jenny replied with a small smile. “He’ll be safe. I promise.”

Christina wasn’t finished with Jenny. In a low controlled voice, she told her, “I don’t appreciate you going behind my back and contacting the general about getting permission for Paul to go riding. You will not undermine my authority. Is that understood Mrs. Hayden?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, “ Jenny retorted. “I didn’t contact the general. I didn’t even tell Richard you refused to let Paul ride. Richard must have spoken with Paul in the meantime. Paul must have told him you thought it was too dangerous and Richard took it upon himself to contact General Ryder. Don’t you blame me if the general pulled your clout,” she finished and moved past her lover’s keeper.

 

Meanwhile, Paul worked in the garden and John splashed water on him. He turned and saw John giggling in the water.

“Why don’t you come in? It’s too hot to work.”

Paul stood up and came to the pool. “I can’t swim and your mother doesn’t want me to go in the pool alone.”

“You can’t swim?” the child asked in wonder. “Why do you always do what Mom says?”

“Because those are the rules,” he replied. “Don’t splash the water on me any more, okay? My shirt is totally wet now.” 

Paul went back to his work, but took off his shirt and hung it over a branch. Not even a minute later, John teased him again by splashing water on his back. This time Paul stood up a little annoyed with the kid’s attitude. John continued splashing water towards him in greater amounts. 

“What’s the matter with you today? Didn’t I tell you…,” Paul said with a sigh and took a step back. As he went to turn and face the child, his sneaker caught the protruding edge of a patio block and he lost his balance. He fell backwards, first landing on his bum and then hitting his head on the edge of the pool. John saw Paul fall. When Forrester didn’t move, he became scared. He saw a thin stream of blood roll down the edging and liner and stain the water. He became really scared and scrambled to get out of the pool to get his mother.

 

The two women were in the living room and argued about Jenny’s contacting General Ryder. Fox stayed out of the conversation and went to get himself something to drink. While he poured himself juice, he watched how John splashed water on Paul’s back. He laughed secretly. He reminded himself to keep an eye on both of them, while he went back in the living room. 

“Don’t you blame me if the general pulled your clout!” Jenny retorted to Christina. The two women saw John coming to Mrs. Wylie, wet and crying.

“Mommy, mommy! Paul fell and hit his head! He’s dead!”

All three adults rushed outside. George felt like his heart had dropped to his knees when he saw Forrester lying next to the pool. He kept on running. Every second counted. There was red coloring in the water. Forrester’s body was so still. Was he dead? Christina reached Paul at the same time George did. She quickly knelt down and placed her fingers on Paul’s neck, checking his carotid artery for a pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief went she felt the steady heartbeat. She gave George a smile and said, “He’s alive.” She lifted Paul’s head and felt the stickiness of wet blood on the back. “George, get me a towel from the kitchen to wrap up his head,” she ordered. Fox ran back into the house, past the pale and frightened Jenny and Christina’s son, John. 

Jenny knelt next to Paul’s body and cried, “No, no, not now!” 

John was scared and cried too. Paul moaned, starting to awaken, but his eyes were closed. He breathed heavily.

“Just lie still,” Christina said and saw Fox coming toward her with the towel in hand. With great care, she tied the cloth loosely around Forrester’s head.

Paul only felt dizziness. He wasn’t aware of what happened. His memory ended when his head hit the edge. He felt someone stroking him and another familiar hand too. It was Jenny’s. She was beside him. 

“We’re going to bring you into the house now,” Christina told him, but he didn’t want to think of getting up. “We’ll help you,” she said and looked to George for assistance. Carefully, they brought him to a sitting position, but Paul’s vision spun around. Only half awake, he felt someone pulling on him until he stood. He did his best to help them, but he felt dizziness coming up. With George and Christina’s support, Paul reached the house and his memory ended again as soon as they laid him on the sofa in the living room.

The wound on Paul’s head required stitching and Christina allowed Jenny to help her. George was watching them and stroked the trembling and sobbing boy on his lap. 

“Are you sure he’ll be all right?” Jenny asked, her voice clearly tinged with worry.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m pretty certain he only has a concussion. I’ll get an x-ray though to make sure he doesn’t have a fractured skull.”

They heard Paul moaning. He was awake again. 

“How are you feeling, honey?” Jenny asked him and stroked his face with trembling fingers. He wanted to turn on his back, but Christina told him to lay still until she had finished her job. 

“I have a terrible headache,” he said and moaned again. 

“I’ll give you something for the pain in a minute. First let me finish sewing you up.”

When she told him she was done, she asked, “How did this happen?” hoping to find out the reason for the accident.

“John teased me by splashing water on my back. I stood up and went to ask why he kept doing that when I asked him to stop. My foot caught the edge of a block and I tripped and fell, hitting my head. I don’t know more. I woke up with you telling me not to move.” Carefully he tried to sit up, and groaned. His coccyx hurt. He held his head because it pounded. “I don’t feel good,” he said and lay back down.

 _“Yeah, I’ll bet you don’t,”_ Paul Forrester, ex-photographer, ghost, said to his twin. _“You conked yourself pretty good there pal. What are you trying to do? Die again? You ain’t making my job as your guardian angel any easier bro.”_

“I’m sorry. No, I don’t want to die again. Go away and leave me alone please,” Forrester mumbled as he looked at the spirit Paul, forgetting he shouldn’t answer him aloud.

“You’re not going to die, Paul,” Fox said and glanced at Christina with concern. “Where’d he get that idea?”

“Help me get him to the examination room,” she ordered. 

They slowly walked/carried Paul downstairs and placed him on the examination table. Jenny followed them with John. There in the basement, a room had been set up with medical apparatus and equipment they had in the compound as well. It was like a very well equipped doctor’s office with an X-ray machine, surgery table and tomography apparatus. Christina went about taking pictures of Paul’s skull. She asked him if he hurt anywhere else and he told her his lower back was in pain. The results showed Paul had no fractures of his skull, but he did have a bruised coccyx and compressed discs where he fell first before he hit his head. He would be in pain for some days, but hopefully there would be no subsequent trouble from the accident. When they brought him up to his bed, Paul moaned every time when he had to take another step. They needed ten minutes to get him up to his room.

For the first time in months, Paul he was thankful for the syringe Christina gave him with the pain killer. It quickly took effect and soon he was asleep. Christina covered him with his blanket.

“I’m so sorry for what happened to you,” she told the still body. She stood up, but Jenny remained seated on his bed’s edge. “Do you see now why he needs permanent supervision?” Christina asked her, hoping she finally understood how hard it was to watch him permanently and keep any harm off him.

“No,” Jenny countered. “Accidents happen. Paul is not a child. Don’t treat him like one. This accident could’ve happened to you or me or anyone, but it happened because your unruly son wouldn’t listen to Paul and stop teasing him. It’s all you son’s fault Paul got hurt.”

Christina felt a growing hatred toward this woman, but she had to admit that this time Jenny was right. 

“Yes, I know. I’m sure he’s very sorry for what he did. I’m going to speak to him,” she said defending her child.

George cleared his throat and motioned for Christina to leave Jenny with Paul.

For a long time Jenny just sat on his bed and held his hand. Paul slept peacefully. So many thoughts came to Jenny’s mind. She thought back to how this accident happened. She and Christina were arguing about control this afternoon and they were so busy with that, that nobody paid attention to what was happening by the pool. The boy came running in and said Paul was dead. She remembered how Fox dashed out of the room and they followed. Seconds later she saw Paul lying by the pool with blood under his head. Then the man she hated so much, didn’t hesitate a second to assist Christina with saving Paul. It was something she thought he would never do. The way she remembered him, Fox always wanted her Starman to be dead, but now he seemed to have changed during all those years. The man really cared for Paul, he didn’t want him dead. He was shocked seeing Paul unconscious like all the others. She shook the awful memories from her mind and her eyes searched the room. It was Paul’s bedroom. It was actually spacious and modern furnished. A photo caught her eye on the nightstand. She smiled. It was hers and Richard’s wedding picture. How in the world did he get it? She felt compelled to get up and regard it. Jenny took the picture in her hand and remembered the day. Then she looked to the man sleeping in the bed. _Why does he have it? I would be so jealous when I see the woman I love together with another man._ But he didn’t feel that way. For him it was only a picture of his girlfriend and his son and a friend. _How I envy you. You’re so lucky not to know what it’s like to be jealous._ At the moment it didn’t matter. What mattered only was that he had survived and she was glad that he had people who cared for his well-being. Perhaps someday she and he could be husband and wife and live in a house together as a real family like she always wanted, but that was something to work for in the future. At the moment what was important was she could see him and be with him as often the others allowed it. 

Jenny felt a hand on her shoulder. It was a half hour later and she must have fallen asleep, because when she opened her eyes she saw her head rested on Paul’s chest. 

“Mr. Hayward is here to pick you up,” she heard a man’s voice telling her. It was George Fox, her enemy. Or was he still an enemy? She knew now that he didn’t want to harm her alien friend, and understood he wanted to protect him as much as she wanted it. Jenny needed some moments to fully awaken. 

“I’m sorry, I guess I dozed off,” she said when she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Ben and Richard came in the room and had the same reaction to hear the news as she had. 

“He needs rest,” Christina assured the people, and with gentle body language, urged the visitors out of the room. 

“Good-bye, Paul,” Jenny said and kissed the sleeping man on his lips. George regarded her from the other side of the bed. 

“Don’t worry, lady. He’s going to be all right,” he assured her when he saw her troubled face. 

Jenny felt the need to tell him, “Thank you for saving his life.”

Fox was so surprised over her words, that he was speechless for a moment. When he got back his tongue, Jenny was already out of the room.

Ben and Richard were downstairs waiting in the entrance when Jenny, Fox and Christina joined them.

“Why don’t you give him his sphere to heal himself?” Ben proposed. “He would only need five seconds and he’d be alright again.” When he saw three pairs of eyes resting on him he continued, “Where are they? You brought the spheres with you, didn’t you?”

Christina debated whether to tell her husband what he wanted to know. She looked at George.

“Yes, we did,” Fox told them. 

“But I don’t trust him enough to hand him one,” Christina said.

“You’d rather watch him suffer?” Ben asked, exasperated with her, and George.

“Since when do you know so much what the sphere can and can’t do?” Fox wanted to know. 

“I know what it did when the dog was nearly hit and when Scott was shot,” he admitted. 

“Of course I don’t want him to suffer,” Christina argued. “But I don’t trust him with the spheres either,” she said while she kept an eye on Jenny. 

Ben’s gaze moved to his former boss. George just threw his hands up, indicating it wasn’t his decision any more. The woman was in charge regarding those questions. He looked again at his wife. “Where are they?”

She felt pushed being in the corner and resisted. “Ben, stop it, please!” she said. “I said I don’t trust him when he’s in contact with the sphere. I’ll ask the general about it. He should decide.”

 

Later that day, she called General Ryder, but his secretary said he was not in the office and she would tell him Mrs. Wylie had called. It was nearly midnight when he returned her call. She told him about the accident. They talked another hour about the proposal he made to George earlier. The general temporarily withdrew his offer based on her opinion that it was too dangerous to give Paul permanent freedom. He didn’t know how it would be in year, or two or five years from now. They talked about Ben’s proposal to let Forrester use the sphere to heal his injuries, but he decided against the idea since she was unsure she could trust Forrester with its power.

###    
**Chapter 10**  


Paul’s bruises would have to heal naturally. The next day Christina and John came upstairs and the boy timidly brought him some flowers from the garden, telling him how sorry he was that this happened. “I didn’t want you to get hurt. I promise I won’t splash you again,” he said. 

“That’s not what I asked you to tell him, John,” she corrected. “I asked you to promise him you’d stop teasing him the next time he tells you to.”

He nodded and looked at Paul. “I promise,” he said, repeating her words. His lower lip quivered. 

Forrester saw the child was truly repentant. He took the boy’s hand and gripped it. “I know. Thank you for the flowers.”

 

A couple of days later, John knocked at Paul’s living room door and stormed into the room when he heard Forrester asking, “Yes?” Christina came in the room seconds later.

“We have a surprise for you,” John told him in an excited voice. “Mom is bringing me to the ranch today. I’m getting my first riding lesson. If you feel okay, do you want to come watch me?”

Paul was thrilled at the prospect of seeing the others again and his face lit up. 

“Only if you’re feeling alright,” she emphasized.

He gazed at the boy. The child was so excited about learning to ride. He didn’t want to disappoint the lad. He knew if he said no, she’d either have to cancel the lesson or they’d have to wait for George to come up and take over watching him because he knew Christina would not leave him in the house alone. 

“I’d like that,” he said and slowly got up from the chair on which he sat, trying his best not to show them that he was still in a lot of pain. 

 

When they arrived at the ranch there were five horses saddled in front of the stable. Richard knew Paul was in no condition to ride after the accident and didn’t bother saddling a horse for him or Jenny. Three girls Paul and the others never saw before waited too. When he got out of the car, Jenny approached him and hugged him. 

“How are you feeling today?” she wanted to know and kissed him. 

Christina rolled her eyes. Did these two always have to act like they were husband and wife? Instead of saying something, she welcomed the others and Ben. John was thrilled and excited. One girl showed him the pony on which he would get his first riding lesson. Christina held her camera ready and took some pictures of John while the girl equipped him with a helmet and gloves. He excitedly mounted his little horse and the girl brought him inside the paddock. The others mounted their horses and Richard checked a last time the gear of the others, before he mounted his stallion, Sundancer. He went in the lead and soon the group was out of sight. Christina took a couple of pictures of John riding in the circle and watched him the next hour while sitting on the paddock fence. 

Paul and Jenny, guarded by her terrier, sat down in the grass and watched how the girl gave John his first lesson. She sat beside Paul and he embraced her. Her hair tickled his nose. He brushed the hair away and inhaled the scent. When he saw nobody watching them, he kissed her neck until she giggled. She turned and kissed him on his lips. The kiss was deep and full of love. She felt his excitement and knew he wanted more when he wouldn’t end the kiss. 

“We better stop,” she said. “What will the others think of us?” 

Paul and Jenny looked to the paddock. The girl gave her a probing look and Christina’s look wasn’t nice either. The girl in the paddock had seen them kissing, but acted as if she had not and concentrated on giving John the lesson. Jenny turned around and saw Paul raising his eyebrow, teasing her a little and indicating how much he enjoyed their privacy. 

“Let’s ask her if she allows us to go for a walk, okay?” she proposed, but suddenly remembered that he would probably have problems with his sore bottom. “I’m sorry I forgot,” she said when she saw his facial expression. He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t such a good idea. She leaned into him and enjoyed his embrace.

“Richard will bring me tomorrow to San Francisco to see Doctor Woo,” she told him. “He’s a Chinese doctor who heals cancer by giving his patients herbs instead of putting that poison they call drugs into the body.”

Paul touched her belly to feel her condition. The ulcerous tumor in her stomach was still there. 

“Have you felt better these last couple days?”

“Yes,” she said. “I was so worried over you I forgot about my own illness.” Jenny found it funny and giggled.

“Did Richard tell you I asked him to inform our son about your condition?” Paul asked, changing the subject. 

Her mood abruptly changed. “Yes, he told me about it. Don’t do that again, Paul,” she said angrily. “I don’t want Scott to come back. He’s safe where he is.”

“I think it’s important that he knows how much things have changed. His return would make you feel much better. He and you have strong bonds to each other. I think his leaving made you so sick.”

“Nonsense,” she replied. 

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, but then thought over the question and shook her head no.

“He has spoken to Scott. What did he say?” Paul wanted to know. 

She looked in his eyes and said, “I don’t know if he’s coming back. He says he needs time to mull over the news, but he’s worried about me and you.”

“Why me? I’m okay.”

“Are you?”

He smiled at her with his irresistible smile. “Yes. This is the best I can ask for. Don’t you think? I’m practically your neighbor and we can see each other when we want. You see they trust me enough to let me sit here with you in the grass.”

“Yes, but only because she’s watching you from over there with her eagle eyes,” she added, not satisfied with the things she couldn’t change. Paul grinned when he saw her unhappy face and kissed her again. Jenny leaned into his chest, enjoying the intimate moment with him.

“There is something I have to ask you,” she said and sat upright again. Her worried eyes troubled him. “I spoke to Ben the other day. He said he isn’t sure who the father of Christina’s child is. He said he thinks you are.”

“Do you really think that?” he asked her, looking into her eyes. He was disappointed that she didn’t have enough confidence in him. 

“How should I know?” she countered, but was too ashamed to keep eye contact with him. “I only know that she’s always acting as your mother and I know you care for her like a brother. You see in her a friend, not your keeper. Don’t deny this, because I have eyes and I see what’s going on in that house.”

“Yes, it’s true. I like her a lot,” Paul admitted, “But liking her because she likes and cares for me doesn’t mean there is anything more between us than friendship. Christina’s child can’t be mine, because she and I never had any kind of sexual contact at all. I wasn’t allowed to have any sex. Ben is the father of her child. He hasn’t worked up yet that he will be a father once more. I know that Christina is one of the most loyal persons regarding this issue. She still loves him, but denies it of course because she’s hurt.”

When Jenny looked up in his eyes she felt silly thinking he was unfaithful. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I guess I’m only jealous that you spend so much more time with her instead of me.”

Paul lifted her chin and forced her to look in his eyes. “You’re my woman, don’t you know that?” he asked and kissed her again. “I want to marry you to show you how much you mean to me, but I don’t know if they will allow it.”

“Yes, I know, you told me that already,” Jenny answered sadly.

 

Sparky heard something and barked. A little while later they heard horseshoes rattling over the ground. They looked up and saw two horses in a run. When the horses came closer, they saw it was Richard and one of the girls racing with each other. Richard was in the lead before he reached the stable. He stopped his horse and turned it around. The girl’s horse came dashing down the way and she stopped it too. At the other end of the way, Ben and the other girls came in sight. They were not in a hurry. Paul and Jenny got up and came to the others. Paul held the girl’s horse until she dismounted. 

“Next time I’ll win,” she said, heated up by the ride. 

“You don’t have a chance against me and Sundancer,” Richard teased her while he dismounted too. 

Meanwhile, Ben and the rest of the girls arrived at the stable and dismounted. 

“Did you have fun while we were gone?” Ben asked John when he saw his son appearing at his side. 

“My legs hurt,” the boy said. “Next time I want to go with you too.”

“No. That’s too early,” Ben said and stroked the back of his head. “But when you have learned how to ride well, you and me will race each other.”

 

When the horses were unsaddled and everything put away, everyone said good-bye to each other and thanked Richard for the ride. Ben went to dismiss his family.

“Did you take pictures of him riding?” he asked his wife.

“Yes, I hope they come out good. He’s very talented, you know.”

She smiled at him and that reminded Ben on the issue he wanted to talk with her.

“I got the divorce papers today,” he admitted, somehow a little ashamed.

“Oh,” was her only response and waited for him to continue. 

“What if I don’t sign them?” he wanted to know. 

Now she didn’t know what he meant by that. Did he want to come back to her? “What are you saying, Ben? Why don’t you want to sign them? I thought we talked about everything.”

“I know, it’s just that I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do,” he admitted carefully. “Give me some time to think about it, okay?”

“You had time enough to think, Ben Wylie. But if you think you need some more, I don’t have a problem with that.”

Jenny kissed Paul and told them she would come tomorrow to his house to say good-bye before she left for San Francisco.

 

“Can I ask you something?” Paul asked Christina carefully, when they sat together in front of the TV watching the evening news. She turned her head to him and asked him what he wanted to know.

“I want to marry Jenny,” Paul said honestly and knew she would be shocked. Christina was speechless for a moment. Had he really said he wanted to get married? “I think when two people love each other like Jenny and I do, we should get married. She told me it is one of her wishes before she dies.”

“Oh Paul,” she started sensitively. “I know you love her and she loves you, but are you sure it’s a good idea? We have spoken about the reasons.”

“I know,” he admitted. “But the reasons you gave me weren’t valid ones in my opinion.”

“Not valid? Listen,” Christina began, this time more serious, “Marriage is so much more than just having sexual contact with each other. If you marry her you have duties, which you might not be able to fulfill. Jenny dreams of living with you in a normal male and female relationship and doesn’t consider that you’re still the military’s property. Besides, if you ask me, I don’t think it’ll work between her and me together in one house. She would begin fighting with me over you to have you all alone for herself all day. It just won’t work, Paul, I’m sorry.”

He didn’t want to give up yet. “But she’s my woman and it would mean so much for me to be united with her, legally.”

“I understand, but why isn’t it enough that you see each other daily? You see each other already more than many other couples can. Believe me, to have a girlfriend or a mate is much easier than to be married to someone.” 

“Why are you doing this to me?” 

“Doing what?” she asked, not understanding the question.

“Stopping me from fulfilling one of my unfulfilled wishes; to marry the woman I love and live together as a couple. You say it won’t work between you two, but you don’t know that. You can’t until you try it. I expect there will be friction in the beginning, but over time, that will lessen and maybe even disappear. You two may even come to like each other and be friends. I have no problem living under the government’s supervision, and I can convince Jenny to accept it as well. We will live upstairs. You will live downstairs. You get what you want. I get what I want. Everyone’s happy.” 

“It won’t work, Paul!” she began again. “You even admitted it. If Jenny lives in our house there will be fights between her and me and in my condition I want to evade those if possible.”

He sighed and asked himself why women always had to be so complicated and stubborn. Paul stopped the conversation there, but he didn’t want to give up the issue yet.

###    
**Chapter 11**  


The following day, Paul played with his old camera. It needed new batteries and film, but otherwise it was functioning as well as it did twenty years ago. Christina was busy the whole day with the new cleaning lady she had hired. She was a woman from Mexico, nice, but she couldn’t speak English very well, and Christina needed to explain a lot how she wanted her to clean the bathrooms and floors and all the other jobs which needed to be done. The lady would come from now on once a week. 

Paul waited basically the entire day for Jenny to show up and say good-bye to him. He was sad that she would be gone for a couple of weeks, but also glad that Richard would pay for the expensive treatment. He heard Christina downstairs arguing with John about going to bed. Every day they argued about the same thing. Finally he gave in and she went to his room to tell him a story to ease him to sleep. While she was in John’s room, Paul changed and went downstairs to his Jacuzzi. It had been delivered a week after his release from the compound. It had been a long time since he used it. Today he felt strong enough to climb in. He went to the garden. When he saw the lighted swimming pool he went faster, afraid to go near it again. He climbed in the hot bath and relaxed. The warm water felt good. He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw Christina standing next to the Jacuzzi, wearing her bathrobe.

“Have you slept in there?” she asked. “If you don’t mind I want to join you.” 

Surprised by the question, he finally he said, “If you like.” 

Paul watched how she took off the bathrobe and climbed in the water, wearing only her bathing outfit. His sharp eyes noticed her belly showed a small bulge. She was in the end of the first trimester. She had rounder breasts too. He never saw her in a bathing suit before. From his glance she knew what he thought, but said nothing about it.

“Oh my God, this feels wonderful,” she said, rolling her eyes with pleasure. “I have always envied you for this Jacuzzi. My muscles hurt from yesterday. Sitting on the paddock logs wasn’t very comfortable.”

She looked at him with a guilty feeling and said, “Listen, I guess Mrs. Hayden didn’t tell you General Ryder said it was okay for you to ride as long as you use one of the horses Mr. Hayward uses for the disabled. When you feel better and if you want, maybe you can ride in the paddock while John gets another lesson. Perhaps one time in the future we all can make an outdoor ride, if one of the guys let me sit in front. You know I can’t ride and we can do that of course only after the baby is born.” 

“I can ride?” Paul asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“Yes,” she confirmed with a smile.

“I’d like that. I must thank him in my next e-mail.”

She laughed. “When are they coming?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

“Doesn’t this bath have buttons to make it bubble?” Christina wanted to know, remembering she had seen it doing it. 

“Yes. Do you want me to make it bubble?” 

“Yes, please!”

He pressed a button and she let out a pleasurable sigh when she felt the jets. She rested her head on the mounted pillow and enjoyed it, closing her eyes.

“Do you want me to make it stronger?”

She nodded a little and felt a moment later stronger jets. She smiled and sighed again when a jet hit a ticklish spot on her. The brass door bell rang. 

“Why now?” she said angrily and wished they would have come five minutes later. She grabbed a towel and climbed out of the bath. Paul did the same, but rushed upstairs to get dressed. Christina opened the door with wet hair, wearing her bathrobe. Ben stood in front of the door with a troubled face.

“What is it?” she asked with concern when he saw his facial expression.

“Is Paul there? We need to talk to him.”

She looked outside and saw his car there. “Yes, he’s upstairs. He’ll be here in a moment. Has something happened to Mrs. Hayden?”

“No, we have a problem.”

Christina was now a little worried and told Ben she would go and get dressed. Meanwhile, Paul came downstairs and found an open door with Wylie waiting in front.

“You better come out with me,” he said and Paul’s heart beat faster when he heard the way Ben spoke.

“What happened?” he asked as they rushed to the car. “She didn’t die, did she?” 

They reached the car and Jenny climbed out. He went around to greet her, relieved. She also wore a troubled face. Before he could ask what was wrong, he heard someone sneezing and Sparky yapping. It was dark and he couldn’t see anyone inside, but then the back door of the car opened and somebody climbed out. The dog followed.

“Am I glad to see you, Dad!” the person exclaimed. He sounded like he had a very bad cold. 

Paul couldn’t believe what he saw. It was his son. He wore the hood of his sweatshirt jacket over his head, but it was definitely his son.

“Scott!” he shouted and joyfully embraced him. They hugged and pounded each other’s back, as they did a half-year ago. Paul pulled the hood off Scott’s head and hugged him once more, squeezing him tightly.

“It’s okay, Dad,” Scott said. “I missed you too, but please don’t crush me to death.” Paul released him. His heart danced joyfully. His boy was back! But then Scott coughed. It sounded really hoarse. “Don’t come so close to me. I have a really bad cold,” he said in between fits of coughing.

“He’s feverish too,” Jenny informed Paul and made her request as short as possible. “I can’t take him with me and Richard doesn’t have the time either to care for him all day.” 

“He can live with me until he’s healthy again,” Paul assured her, without thinking that he should have asked Christina first.

“But I didn’t come back to live with him in this house, Mom,” Scott protested. “I’ll accompany you to San Francisco. I won’t leave you.” 

“But you must,” she said. “There is no room for another person. It’s kind of a hospital.”

Christina had arrived and was shocked when she saw what the excitement was all about. As soon as Jenny saw her, she went to her. “Is it okay with you if my son lives with Paul until I’m back? He needs medical assistance.”

Christina eyed Scott for a long time. She saw he wasn’t feeling good, but there was something else too. 

“Yes, of course,” she reluctantly agreed. She almost said no when she saw how much hate Scott’s eyes directed at her.

“Can you keep the dog for me, Paul, until I’m back?” Jenny asked, surprising him with the question. 

He didn’t know what to say at the moment. Jenny took it as a yes and handed Christina a plastic bag full of dog food. 

“Okay,” Christina said, giving way. “I’ll sit your dog for you until you’re back. My son will love it.”

“We better get going,” Ben reminded everyone. “Richard will bring her to San Francisco. He’s waiting for us.”

Jenny went to Scott and hugged him once more. “I’m so glad you’re back. I’ll be all right. Don’t worry.” She kissed him on the cheek. Scott fought with his tears. 

“I’ll call you every day, Mom,” he replied. “Please make sure you get healthy again.” 

“I will,” Jenny said before she went to Paul and kissed him as well. This time she didn’t care if anyone saw them. They kissed each other good-bye like the lovers they were. “You can call me too if you want, honey.” 

Ben reminded her about the time again and they drove away. 

“I’m not staying here,” Scott said to Paul when the car was out of sight. Paul saw so much detestation in his son’s eyes, but there was also thankfulness that these people had changed his father’s life for the better as well.

“Where do you want to go?” Christina asked, worried about him. Her doctor’s eyes told her the young man was feverish. She could see it in his glassy eyes.

“Why do you care? You shot me into a cripple.” 

“How’s your arm?” she wanted to know.

“Useless,” he replied coldly.

“I’m sorry,” she answered and fought her tears when she saw his accusing eyes. “I’m so sorry, Scott.”

Hearing that made Paul very sad, but it was not the right time to argue about guilt at the moment. He put an arm around his son and led him to the house. 

“You’ll be all right,” he assured him. When Scott saw he had no other choice, he stopped resisting. “Sparky, come here boy!” Paul shouted back, when the dog hesitated as his son did. The dog ran to join him.

Paul let Scott take a seat in Christina’s living room and Sparky wanted to get Scott’s attention. Scott’s head was spinning a little because of the fever. He sneezed again and didn’t care that the dog always wanted to get on his lap. 

“In the last few days this house has become more like a hospital,” she said, hoping to break the tension. “Do you want me to give you something for the symptoms?”

“No, I don’t want you to touch me. Just leave me alone,” he said in a raised voice at her, breathing through his mouth because his nose was blocked. He held his head. 

“But she can make you feel much better. Why don’t you want to accept her help? Is it just a cold or the flu?” Paul wanted to know. He gently pushed the dog off the sofa and took a seat next his son. He touched his forehead. It was so hot. 

“I don’t know,” Scott answered. 

“Well, then we better get you upstairs to my bed.”

“No, I don’t want to,” the young man protested, but his father ignored him. Paul forced him to stand up. The dog was confused why he had to stay in this unknown house, and began sniffing around. With Scott’s good arm around his neck, Paul brought his son upstairs. Five minutes later he came downstairs again and found Christina on the phone with her new furry friend on her lap, telling someone the news. When she ended the conversation she told Paul she informed George of their new guest. She asked how Scott was. 

“He’s in bed. I think he’s exhausted.” 

“I don’t want you to get so close to him. Sleep tonight in George’s room. Is Scott asleep?”

“He wasn’t when I came downstairs.”

“Tell me when he is. I’ll check on him and give him something.”

 

Paul checked on his son several minutes later. Fever took its toll on him. Scott was asleep. Paul quietly called for Christina and she gave the young man a medical check up. She determined he had bronchial pneumonia. She said he needed something for his cough and prescribed a menthol vapor rub to help with his breathing. When she saw him laying there with his naked torso, she saw the scar on his shoulder from the gunshot. It was healed, but the skin was puckered and showed a thin white line where the doctors had operated. She gently touched the spot and felt tears coming to her eyes. 

“God, I’m so sorry I did this to you,” she said, although only Paul could hear her. “I’m so sorry!” 

The Starman put his hand over his son’s shoulder when Christina moved hers aside. 

“I feel a lot of damage in there. The doctors reattached the nerves together as best as they could, but he didn’t start his therapy. He must feel pain whenever he moves his shoulder or his hand. That’s why he can’t work with his arm any more. It hurts him too much.”

“What can we do to help him?”

“There are a lot of possibilities, but now we need to help him to get over his pneumonia.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I’ll go get the rub and you can put it on him. I’ll tell you how to do it.”

###    
**Chapter 12**  


The next morning Scott woke up in Paul’s bed. He looked around and found himself in an unfamiliar room. He had a bad headache. He felt the need to use the bathroom. When he got up his head pounded even more. He assumed the room next to the bedroom was the room he needed. 

Paul, Christina and their new pet were downstairs eating breakfast when they heard the toilet flushing upstairs.

“I’ll go up to see how he’s doing. Do you want me to give him something?” he asked and stood up. 

She reached for two medicine packs on the counter and gave him one pill of each. Then she stood up and went to get a pain killer.

“Give him those if he’s having a headache. Tell him to stay in bed. Ask him if he wants me to check on him. Tell him I won’t bite him, if he’s afraid.”

Paul chuckled at her comment and went upstairs with the medicine. When he entered his own bedroom he saw Scott in bed holding his head. “Good morning. How are you feeling today?”

“Terrible,” Scott answered. 

“I have some pills for you. Christina said she could check you if you want.”

“Tell her to stay out of sight. She’s ruined my life enough,” Scott replied coldly, but moaned when he felt his headache again. Paul had meanwhile gotten water and handed him the glass. Although Scott was right handed, he took it with his left hand. 

“I thought you have some pills for me,” Scott reminded him when he saw his father’s eyes staring at him. He put the glass on the nightstand and cupped his left hand. Paul gave his son the medicine. Scott put the pills in his mouth and then grabbed the glass to wash it down. When Scott looked up, his father still eyed him in a sort of shock.

“What’s the matter, have you never seen a cripple before? I can’t use my right arm any more if that’s what you want to know.”

“I’m sorry,” was the only thing Paul could answer at the moment. 

“Yeah, me too,” Scott said and laid back down again. When he saw how disturbed his father was seeing him for the first time in this condition, he changed the topic. “I couldn’t believe my ears when Richard told me they really gave you limited freedom, kind of like a new horizon. I’m so glad for you Dad, but now this happened to Mom. God, I wish he would have told me earlier.”

“She didn’t want him to. I convinced him he should. Your mother will be all right. I feel it.”

“How do you know? Many people die because of tumors.” 

“But she won’t if she’s starting to fight it,” Paul assured him. “Her illness has a totally different origin.”

Scott felt his headache return and he moaned. Paul touched Scott’s forehead and Scott felt warmth floating into his head. It felt good. The pain eased and he relaxed. Paul could feel a lot of things in Scott’s body when he touched him. His sensitivity told him his son used a lot of painkillers lately. His arm must have troubled him a lot. He also detected this young man’s body needed sustenance. 

“Are you hungry?” he asked and Scott opened his eyes again. 

“A little I guess,” he answered “The headache is gone. You should become a doctor, Dad. Dr. Paul Forrester, wouldn’t that be something?” Scott laughed a little. 

“Are you strong enough to get up to eat? You were very sick yesterday. Do you remember?” 

“I’m still very tired, but I think I can get up.”

“Why didn’t they inform me earlier that you’re back?” Paul wanted to know.

“I don’t know,” Scott answered and coughed. His lungs were totally hoarse. “I hitchhiked from the Canadian border down to California. I needed three days to get here. In between I caught a really bad cold.”

“I know,” Paul said with a troubled voice. “But I’ll help you now. Come.”

 

He helped him up and Scott wanted to make a quick pit stop before he went downstairs. They went in the bathroom and Paul helped him showering in the bathtub, shaving and brushing his teeth. He saw Scott was very skillful doing everything with basically one hand. He used his right hand only very sparingly. Paul saw whenever Scott moved his right arm higher to a certain level he flinched. At last, Paul helped him getting dressed. Yesterday Scott went to bed in his jeans. Since he brought only a small bag with him, Paul gave him one of his own jogging pants and a T-shirt to wear. They went downstairs. Nobody was there. They found a note on the table, saying that Christina was outside in front of the door with the dog. 

“What do you want to eat?” Paul asked Scott when he sat down at the table. 

“Oatmeal.”

“Oatmeal?” Paul asked again. A cold shiver went down his spine. It was one of the few foods he didn’t like at all.

“We ate it every morning in Leros.”

“Who’s we?” Paul asked, interested. He remembered the vision he had when he was having his near death experience.

“I guess now that I’m back I can tell you everything of my adventures during the last six months.”

Paul made him his oatmeal and between coughing and sneezing, Scott told him where he was the last months. While he was in the hospital, his mother and Richard arranged to get him a new passport. Jenny needed to sell her car for it. The man who sold these fake passports wanted several thousand dollars. When he was released from the hospital ten days later, his mother brought him to the airport. She didn’t want him to go to Mexico. They agreed Europe was better and she booked a flight to Spain for him. His new name was Jeremy Rosenbaum. He stayed in Spain for some time, living in a cheap hotel room. Spain was a good country for people like him because nobody was forced to register themselves. When he had only a little money left, he hitchhiked and landed on a small island next to Rhodes, Greece. There he met a couple from Switzerland at the beach that, fortunately for him, spoke English. The man was a very rich banker and his wife, Valerie was much younger than he was. They had a big luxurious boat in the harbor and they invited him aboard. A couple of days later, the husband needed to return to Switzerland for a couple of days, but told his wife to stay on the boat and wait for him. Scott and Valerie met again on the beach and they spent their days together. At first it was nothing more than friendship, but things escalated and paved the way for more. The husband called Valerie and told her there were problems at his company and he would be gone for another week. At the same time, she found out Jeremy had no more money for a hotel and he slept with his belongings on the beach. She was afraid to sleep alone on the boat and offered him shelter there. At first Scott declined, but then the weather changed the next day and he went to the boat to find refuge. When he was on the boat they spent every minute together, and although they didn’t want it to happen, they became close to each other. Both of them knew the husband would return in a couple of days, but the feelings for each other became stronger and stronger. They started an affair. 

“But she was married!” Paul said, a little upset that his son was capable of doing such a thing. “Scott, what were you thinking when you did that?”

“Dad!” his son exclaimed trying to calm him. “We didn’t want it to happen. We knew it was wrong, but we couldn’t stop it any more. There was a lot of friendship between us. She cared for me and I thanked her in the way she wanted it. You must know that her husband was on business trips very often and she was alone all the time. They don’t have children and she just needed somebody. If it wasn’t me, then somebody else would have ended up in her boat.”

Paul still fought with the fact that Scott‘s hormones overruled his intelligence when he started an affair with this married woman.

“And then?” he asked, interested how the story ended.

“I left before the husband came back of course, when Richard called me and informed me what’s going on here. That was a week ago.”

“Do you miss her?”

“No,” Scott replied, suddenly a little irritated. “We both knew it was just an affair. She would never leave her husband. He’s much older than she is. She’s 28 and he’s 66, but he has the money and offers her a luxurious lifestyle.”

“True love is better than any luxury,” Paul said wisely. “And I think you lie to yourself if you say you won’t miss this woman.”

“I won’t!” Scott tried to reply in a raised voice, but it only ended with a fit of coughing. Christina came back and Sparky ran in the kitchen to greet the others.

“Oh, good morning,” she welcomed Paul and Scott. She received an icy stare from Scott, but Paul greeted her friendly and smiled. “Are you feeling better today?” Scott tried his best to ignore her. “Your coughing doesn’t sound good. You better stay in bed today. Do you still have a fever?”

“Leave me alone!” Scott tried to shout at her, but again it ended in a fit of coughing. 

“Okay, do whatever you want!” she said, throwing up her hands. “I only wanted to give you some good advice.”

While Christina opened a can of dog food, which Jenny had given her, Paul asked, “So how did you return?”

“I didn’t have any money. She bought me a ticket to Vancouver, Canada. I thought it is easier to enter the States this way with a fake passport,” Scott said and looked to see if Christina listened. It didn’t matter any more if she knew or didn’t know that he had bought a new identity. It was useless now anyway. She didn’t say anything and fed the dog.

Paul looked a long time at Scott’s face and Scott sought his father’s eyes. 

“I’m so glad that you’re home, son. We all missed you, especially your mother.”

“Yeah, I missed her too. If you hadn’t given up when this happened to me,” he said and tried to move his right arm, “we all could have been together, perhaps in Spain or in Greece. Except that I had to sleep at the beach sometimes, it was an adventure that we all could have had. Instead, they brought you back and you were so devastated you decided to die.”

“I know, but isn’t it better the way it is now? I really like it here. Okay, I’m not living with your mother, but I can see her and the others as much often as I like. Somehow in the meantime, I think everyone has gotten used to it that an extraterrestrial is in the neighborhood.”

Scott giggled and Christina did too. She was finished with feeding Sparky.

“John was so thrilled this morning when he got up and saw the dog. He’s looking forward to playing with him in the afternoon.”

“Who’s John?” Scott wanted to know.

“My son. He’s seven and he’s living here with us.”

“Who else lives in this house?” 

Christina sought help and looked to Paul. Since he didn’t say anything, she told him, “I’m responsible for your father during the week and Mr. Fox is on weekends.”

“I thought he’s retired!” Scott growled.

“He is,” Paul explained, “But since he’s living close by, the general asked him to take the job. I know it’s hard for you to believe this, but the man has changed since you last saw him.”

“Because of his girlfriend?”

“How do you know that?” Christina interfered. 

“Mom told me everything.”

 

Scott wanted to go to bed again and he and Paul went upstairs. Sparky followed them, almost knocking them over. Before he went back to bed, Scott took a look outside in the garden and was impressed when he saw the swimming pool. 

“I heard what happened there a couple of days ago. I think she has a tough job babysitting you,” he teased Paul, who was watching the dog. Sparky sniffed everywhere and inspected the room. Scott had enough and went back to bed. 

“When you need something, call me. I’m next door. There’s my living room.”

Scott nodded and pulled the blanket over his shoulder. “I need a box of tissues. Can you ask your female doctor if she has nose drops for me? I can’t sleep when my nose is blocked.”

“She has a name, Scott. It’s Christina or Mrs. Wiley. I’ll ask her,” Paul answered and closed the door to get what he asked.

 

Scott woke up several hours later. He heard a child playing with Sparky in the garden. The dog’s loud barking woke him. He looked around and saw a full box of tissues on his nightstand and the bottle of nose drops. He smiled because he had been able to sleep without them. The picture behind the tissue box drew his attention. He had the same thought his mother had some days ago. _Why in the world has Dad got Mom’s wedding picture to Richard?_

His shoulder hurt again. It felt like something pulled on it. His headache had returned too. Scott got up and looked in his bag for the pills he usually took when the pain in his shoulder returned. He needed two strong pills each day. Sometimes he wished someone would just take his arm off. It was almost useless anyway. When he took the glass from this morning and filled it with water, he heard somebody coming up the stairs. He hurried to swallow the pills. Someone knocked. He went to open the door.

“Hi,” Christina said, unsure how to greet him because of his permanent hostility, “Lunch is ready if you want.”

“Is it that late?” Scott looked at his watch. Several hours had passed since he had last seen her.

She saw the bottle of pills on the nightstand. She came in the room and picked it up, regarding it. 

“What do you need these for?” she asked. 

“For my shoulder. Sometimes my arm hurts so much, that I can’t stand it. It feels like somebody wants to rip it out.” He saw shock on her face. “Don’t look at me like that!” he accused her. “It was you who caused it. The doctor said I have to live with it.”

Christina still couldn’t believe that the symptoms were so strong. “Give me your right hand,” she ordered. 

“What for?” Scott wanted to know, but did what she asked. She asked him to press as hard as he could on her hand, but when he reached a certain level he flinched because pain set in. He withdrew his hand and sat down to wait until the pain went away.

“Scott, you must do something with this arm. Perhaps another operation is necessary. Let me take a look.”

He hesitated, but her eyes won his confidence for a short moment. Although the pain was still there, she grabbed his arm carefully and moved the arm and shoulder. When she reached his pain tolerance level again, Scott cried out and pushed her away, holding his hurting arm. 

“I’m sorry I hurt you, but I need further examinations. You need to do something about it. Taking painkillers all day is not the answer.”

“You hurt me again,” he said in agony. “Just leave me alone and don’t tell me what to do. You know nothing of what I went through.”

“I just wanted to help you. Why don’t you understand?” He was silent and breathed heavily, waiting patiently until the pain eased off. “I’m so sorry that I did this to you. I know I can’t turn back time, but I think I’m a good doctor and could help you. Why don’t you accept my help, Scott? I don’t hate you. I really only want to help you.”

He sank down on the bed and covered his arm with his body. The pain slowly eased off. Christina saw how strong it must have been. He was still breathing heavily, partly because of his cold as well.

“Don’t ever touch me again…..you bitch!” he shouted at her. 

She stood up from the bed and went to the door. Before she left the room, she found enough courage to turn around and tell him, “I understand that you hate me. I probably would too if I were you. I really only wanted to help, but it seems to me you have turned into a bitter young man.”

“What did you expect?” he replied loudly. “Did you think I would walk up to you, give you a hug and a kiss, and say thank you for shooting me?”

She had taken enough. She wasn’t going to let him win this one. Her courage let her respond with equal vigor. “If you had stayed on the ranch and let us take him, as you should have, you never would have gotten hurt in the first place!”

“I couldn’t do that. I had to try and free him. You people don’t have a clue what freedom means to him. You still don’t! Dad had to die before someone finally listened and moved him here. If he hadn’t died, he’d still be locked up in that desert cage. He’s still your prisoner, but at least he can go places and do things here that he could never do there. I’ll never give up fighting you until he’s completely free. Someone has to, because he won’t.”

“Then be prepared for a long fight, Mr. Hayden, because this is as good as it’ll get for your father. Accept it as he has.”

“Fuck you, lady!” Scott replied.

She left the room and closed the door with a slam. Scott thought a long time over her words. _I’ll never accept it. I’ll see you free yet, Dad. One day you will be free._

 

Christina came downstairs. Paul waited for her and had set the table. John sat at the table, eying only the dog at his side. The Starman saw how the woman fought against breaking down in tears. He served everyone a plate and they began eating. Christina informed Paul that Scott didn’t want to eat with them.

“What happened?” he finally dared to ask, hoping the question would not anger her more than it already had.

“He hates me. I examined his shoulder. It’s really troubling him. Did you know he’s constantly taking painkillers?”

“I know, but what can we do if he can’t stand it otherwise?” 

John began feeding the dog pieces of his meat and handed them to Sparky under the table. Christina saw it and asked him rather loudly, not to do it any more. “He called me a bitch,” she quietly admitted to Paul. 

“What?” 

“You heard me. I want him out of the house as soon as possible. I offered him my friendship and my experience as doctor and all I get out of him is rejection and a foul mouth.”

“But where should he live? You saw that he can basically use only one arm. He can’t work with this injury, at least not in his old job. Richard doesn’t have time to help him all day.”

“Mr. Hayward can. He helped his ex-wife too.”

“But he isn’t his father. I am. You can’t throw him out of the house.”

“I can’t? You’ll see that I can. Nobody is allowed to call somebody what your son called me. I haven’t earned that.”

“I apologize for him, Christina,” Paul said. “Please let him stay. I beg you, at least until his mother is back.”

She looked in his sad eyes and couldn’t resist his request. She sighed heavily and continued with her meal.

 

When the dishes were done, John and Christina played in the garden with the dog. Paul went upstairs. He found Scott talking on his cell phone with his mother. Paul waited patiently until they were finished. The conversation lasted at least ten minutes. Meanwhile, he began cleaning up the room. Scott’s clothes laid everywhere on the floor. He neatly put everything on a chair. When it had ended, Scott told him that the treatment had started and that she sent him her love. Paul thanked him, but at the moment he had other sorrows.

“Christina told me what happened between you and her before lunch. She wants you out of the house as soon as possible.”

“No problem,” Scott said and got up to collect his things. “I don’t want to stay here anyway. This house is a cage. I don’t want to end up like you. You’re her puppet.”

When he had folded one of the t-shirts, he had to use his right arm to open the bag. This caused another wave of pain. He flinched and sat down on the bed, waiting patently again and holding his arm until the pain subsided. 

“Where do you want to go? To Richard?” his father asked him.

“I don’t know. Why not?”

“He doesn’t have the time to help you from morning to dawn and he’s no Valerie either.”

“Dad!” Scott said, eying him accusingly. “Don’t you start too, okay? If you want to say that he doesn’t have time to help care for a cripple, you better hold your tongue.” He wanted to say some more, but his cough set in and he needed a sip of water. 

Paul got up and collected his son’s clothes again, which he had spread out partly on the floor when he began packing.

“I think at the moment you should stay. I’ll care for you, but only if you try to accept the other members of this house. Christina only wants the best for you. Things have changed while you were gone, Scott. There is no more running and hiding and fearing for each other’s life. They still want to keep me and I have accepted that they may never let me go totally. You better accept it too.” 

While Paul held his speech, Scott needed a tissue for his nose and blew it loudly. Paul didn’t know if he had heard all of what he said. He went downstairs to bring him his share of lunch.

 

After the meal, Scott slept again and woke up about four in the afternoon. Scott got up to use the toilet and searched afterward for his father. He found him in his father’s spare room, making pictures with his old camera of some art design he had arranged with things he had found. Scott looked at the arrangement and found it pretty good. 

“Do you like it?” his father asked, focusing his attention towards his son.

Scott whistled, expressing his agreement. “Not bad, but why are you photographing these things? Are you going to sell them on Ebay?”

“What’s Ebay?” Paul asked, confused. 

“You know,” he said and suddenly realized that his dad probably never heard of it. “You can sell almost anything, like your pictures, and put it on the Internet for public auction. The person who bids the most gets it.”

“I see,” Paul said. It was an interesting idea. “No, I don’t want to sell them there, at least not yet. I thought about what I can do to earn money without going to work.”

Scott chuckled. He liked his father’s way of thinking. “That’s what everybody wants, but why do you need money anyway? I thought they’re paying for all your expenses.”

“Yes, they are,” Paul replied. “I don’t need any money. I thought to give your mother all the things back, which she had to sell before you left, like her car.”

“I thought money is not important to you,” Scott teased him. 

Paul grinned. “It isn’t. It’s just that I feel responsible for all the things that have happened, including what happened to you,” Paul said and Scott knew he meant his injury. He hated it when he was eternally reminded that he had basically only one arm left. His father saw how much his mood changed from one moment to the next. “I could try to heal your shoulder with the sphere,” his father said.

“They’d never allow you to,” Scott protested, but at the same time there was a hint of hope in his voice. “Would they?”

“I don’t know, Scott. Last time I needed it, Christina wouldn’t give it to me. She was too afraid of what I could do with it. I don’t blame her. It was a big mistake, my influencing her to let me stay the last night with your mother. Then there was the incident that happened with Sparky and you. They are afraid of me when I work with the sphere.”

“So what makes you think they’ll give it to you now?”

“Because this is more important than a bruised bottom from falling down. I don’t want you to suffer. I think I could make you feel a lot better.”

“What will you do?” 

“General Ryder wants me to write daily e-mails to him. I could ask him to let me borrow the sphere.” Paul didn’t tell his son Christina and George insisted on screening all his e-mails prior to sending them to the general. He was going to get in trouble for this and she would probably punish him for it, but he had to do it.

“Oh, I see,” Scott said. “They brought the spheres with them. Do you know where they are?”

Paul shrugged and simply said, “no.”

 

When Scott was in bed again to take a nap and recover, Paul wrote the e-mail to the general, telling him the news he assumed the man already knew and asking him if he would allow him to treat his son with the power of the sphere. He wasn’t sure if he could heal his son’s shoulder all the way, but any improvement was better than the condition it was in now.

Paul just sent the message, when he heard the dog barking downstairs. Sparky could wake the whole house with his yapping. He went downstairs to check what excited the dog. Paul heard Mr. Fox’s voice and two females saying hello to each other. Scott came out of his father’s bedroom to see what the noise was all about. Scott followed his dad hesitantly down the stairs. When he approached the guests, Scott recognized the lady at George’s side as Sylvie, Fox’s new girlfriend. He had seen her before. She looked very nice, blond, taller than Mr. Fox, and he remembered how protective she was with everything and everybody from the one time he met her.

“Oh my God,” the woman said when she saw Paul coming, “He looks exactly like Peter Foster!” 

“Yes, Sylvie. I told you. This is Paul Forrester,” George calmly explained to her. “This is the man I protected all those years.”

They shook hands and said hello. Sylvia couldn’t take her eyes off him. George spotted Scott coming down the stairs and did a double take.

“Hi Scott,” he welcomed him, but the young man stopped where he was and didn’t come closer. “I heard you’re back. How are you?” 

Scott didn’t answer him. He knew Sylvia as his mother’s friend and said hello to her.

“Scott, honey,” Sylvie answered and went to him to kiss him on the cheek like he was still as old as John. The woman was very protective and always liked him a lot. “Your mother was so changed when you decided to go on this long trip. You look tired. Are you sick?” Sylvia acted like a mother to him and touched his forehead with her hand to check if he had a fever. Scott felt embarrassed and tried to escape her. 

“Don’t come close to me. I have bronchitis, but I’m fine. Thanks Sylvie.”

The woman understood and welcomed John. She just shook hands with the boy, praising him how well-mannered he was.

“Sylvie wanted to see where I work. That’s why I brought her with me,” George said while he went in Christina’s living room, making himself comfortable on her sofa. Sylvie still couldn’t take her eyes off Paul, who sat down opposite her. 

“I’m going upstairs again. Excuse me,” Scott said and went away, not waiting to hear what Sylvie wanted to discuss.

“It’s the same face as on Jenny’s book. So, what are you to Jenny if I may ask, Peter?” Sylvie asked curious. She suddenly remembered his name wasn’t Peter. “Excuse me, Paul,” she corrected herself.

Paul searched for help by looking from George to Christina. What should he say? The truth? 

“Jenny and I met each other many years ago,” he began, still eying either of them. “We had Scott together.”

“George told me you were a Russian agent and changed sides. That’s why my George needed to protect you.”

“Pardon me?” Paul asked, not understanding what Fox had told the woman. Since when was he a Russian agent?

“I see,” Sylvie commented after she had seen his reaction. “You can’t talk about it. It must have been terrible to live in Nevada all that time without contacting Jennifer or your son.” 

Paul smiled innocently, hoping the woman was satisfied with the answer she provided herself. 

“I’ll make us some coffee. I have some lemon pie too,” Christina said, hoping to change the topic. She went in the kitchen to set up the coffee.

“It’s really a shame that Jenny came up with a story like you being an alien from another planet,” Sylvia told him a little sad. “It must have hit her really hard that you had to leave her after finding her again when the boy was a teenager.” 

“Let’s not talk about all this stuff from the past, honey. The future is what’s important. Tell Paul the news,” Mr. Fox interfered, hoping to cheer up the mood and bring Sylvie away from her sorrows.

“Yes, the news is that I’ve finished reworking Jenny’s book. She only needs to sign the papers and we’ll publish it again.”

“Well, she isn’t here at the moment, but I’ll tell her when I talk to her next time,” Paul answered while he heard Christina calling his name from the kitchen. He excused himself, got up and went to her. She gave him coffee cups and plates for the pie to bring out in the living room.

“It’s terrible that she’s so sick,” Sylvia commented and wiped away some tears from her eyes. George put an arm around her, while Paul set the coffee table. “I feel responsible what happened to her. The book was so important for her. She was so proud of the stories. I had to pull it and then she found out me and George like each other.” 

“Oh Sylvie, please calm down,” George said, not knowing any more if he could stop an emotional breakdown of the woman. Christina brought coffee and sent Paul in the kitchen to get the pie. 

“She’s going to be alright, Mrs. Travis,” Christina told her while she poured everyone coffee. “We all know how stubborn Jenny Hayden can be. Don’t we?” When she looked to Sylvie she saw a little smile came to her face. Then she remembered her son. He was nowhere in sight, nor she could see the dog.

 

John had seen Scott for the first time when he came downstairs. His mother had told him this morning that a young man lived for several days with them upstairs, but John had not seen Scott at all until now. The small talk of the grown ups didn’t interest him and he went upstairs with the dog. He carefully opened the door to Paul’s bedroom and found Scott in bed.

“Hi,” he said, not showing himself behind the door.

“Hi,” Scott replied, returning the greeting and blew his nose. The noise made John giggle from outside. 

“You can come in if you want.”

Carefully, John entered the room and Sparky hopped on the bed on Scott’s lap. 

“Get off!” Scott warned him. He hated it when the dog climbed on his bed. He hated it also when he did that on his mother’s bed, but he couldn’t say anything there, because his mother always protected the dog. John was shy and didn’t know how to start a conversation with him. Instead, he pressed his body against the door.

“Are you John?” Scott asked, starting a chat, but had a fit of coughing. 

“Are you sick?” the boy asked him when he heard it.

“You bet kid!” Scott replied and blew his nose again. 

“Who are you?” John dared to ask after a while.

“I’m Scott. I’m Paul’s son.”

“I teased him a couple of days ago and he fell and hit his head and bum,” John admitted, not knowing that his line of talk was non sequitur.

“I heard about that,” Scott said. “I hope you have learned a lesson from this experience.” 

John nodded, but began playing with the door handle. 

“Have you found friends in school yet? I know how hard that can be because Dad and I always had to keep moving around.”

The boy nodded again, but was still too shy to tell him more. Suddenly, the boy saw the bottle with Scott’s pills on his nightstand and ran to it. 

“Can I have one candy?” he asked and pointed with his little finger to the open bottle. To him the pills only looked like sugar.

“No, John,” Scott said and put the pills away. “This is no candy. It tastes terrible and it’s not for little children.”

They heard Christina calling John’s name from downstairs. The dog barked. 

“You better go to see why your mother has called you,” Scott told him. Sparky ran downstairs. John went to the door and said good-bye to Scott. He followed the dog. 

 

Mr. Fox and Sylvie stayed most of the afternoon, and when George left he told Paul he’d check in again Friday. He also told him if there was any problem he could call him and gave Paul a brand new prepaid cell phone he bought in town. The two women chatted with each other, while Fox gave Paul instructions how to use the phone. George stored his own telephone number in Paul’s new phone and showed him how to store more numbers. 

When the guests had left, Christina sent Paul to collect the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. John hadn’t done his homework yet and it was late, almost time for dinner. She hurried and sat down with the child to help him. Paul had gotten a tray and put all the dishes on it. There was some pie left. He saved a piece for Scott, but he couldn’t resist eating the rest of it. Christina eyed him from the dinner table, from where she could see into the living room, but said nothing when he finished the pie. She thought he would find out soon enough himself if all this dessert was too much for him or not. When the pie was gone, Paul lifted up the tray and went with the overfilled carrier to the kitchen. 

A little while later Scott came downstairs again and Paul informed him what Sylvie said about the book. Later they sat down in the living room and quietly chatted with each other, while Christina was still busy helping John with his homework. When the homework was finally done, both joined them in the living room. Christina saw Scott eating his share of pie with great appetite. He coughed, but then thanked her and Paul for the dessert. _He can be sweet as sugar when he wants to be_ , she thought, and remembered dinner had yet to be prepared. Her new patient also needed medication for further treatment of his bad cough. She got up and took the plate out of Scott’s hand. 

“Do you still have a fever?” she asked and Scott looked up to her from the sofa.

“No, I feel much better than yesterday,” he answered, but sneezed a moment later. Christina rolled her eyes and went to get him more medicine.

 

While Scott and John watched a cartoon channel together, she and Paul cooked dinner. In the beginning of their usual evening cooking lessons, she had to watch what he was doing constantly. He had some experience with cooking, but that was nineteen years ago. He needed a lot of practice. Sometimes the food ended up a little burnt, but he got better at it each day. While they cooked, Paul tried to lighten up her mood. Dinner came out very good today and soon it was ready to eat. 

“I want to sleep in Scott’s room tonight, Mommy,” John said, while she cut his meat in pieces. The boy began liking Paul’s son and wanted to sit next to him. Scott kept the child entertained after the cartoon had ended until it was time for dinner. They went into the garden and John showed him his pets. Later they played a little with Sparky. Scott told him which games the dog liked and what tricks he had taught him. The boy was awed by the young man.

“Why do you want to do that? You can see Scott is sick. I don’t want you to get sick,” Christina answered and could not quite understand how the two had developed a friendship in such a short time. Scott listened to the question, but was busy trying to eat his meat with one hand. Paul saw what an effort it was for his son and began cutting the meat for him as Christina did with John’s. Scott was embarrassed, but said nothing and accepted his father’s help. He thanked him when he was finished and began eating.

After a while, Scott said to Christina, “I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Why?” Paul asked, not understanding why he didn’t like it here.

“You don’t have a guest room. You told me that Fox will come again in two days. I don’t think you and him will share a bed, will you?”

“I have a big air bed, Scott,” Christina said. “We could set it up in your dad’s room. The bedroom is big enough for that. Where do you want to go anyway? My husband lives in your old apartment now.”

“I know,” Scott replied, “but this place feels like a prison.” 

She said nothing, but she was shocked he thought such a thing. She spotted her son feeding the dog a piece of his meat again. Sparky knew the child gave him shares of his food and always sat by his side hoping for more goodies. “Stop that, John!” she forcefully reminded him. “I told you not to feed Sparky from the table! He has his own food. You’re not to give him table food again. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Mom,” the child replied with shame.

“You’re no prisoner,” Paul answered. “You can go if you want, but I promised your mother I’d take care of you.”

Scott rolled his eyes. His father forgot again that he wasn’t a child any more. “I can care for myself. I’ll ask Richard if I can sleep in his house or in the cabin.”

“And how will you pay for the rent? I don’t think he’ll let you live in the cabin for free,” Christina suddenly interfered. She didn’t want to say anything, but couldn’t help herself.

“I don’t know,” Scott said, irritated with her. “I’ll have to ask him. I don’t think he’ll send me back to you.”

“Do whatever you want,” Christina answered. “You’re old enough,” she said, feeling offended that he still had such hostile feelings towards her.

“I have written to General Ryder asking him for permission to let me use the sphere to treat Scott’s arm,” Paul admitted and looked at Christina, waiting for her reaction.

“You did what?” she began shouting and dropped her fork. Now she was really offended. “That’s it! I’m confiscating your computer. You know the rules. Mr. Fox or I are to screen all your e-mails prior to your sending them. You’ve just shown me you can’t be trusted to follow a simple rule as that. It’s a shame that I have to treat you like a kid, but you challenged it.” 

“I’m sorry, Christina. Would you have let me send it? I know you don’t trust me with the sphere.”

“Of course I don’t trust you regarding the sphere,” she said loudly. “And I hope you know why. If George hadn’t found out you had stolen it, you’d have escaped on the way back and we wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

“See, that’s what I thought. You left me no choice. I had to send it without your okay. If you feel you must punish me, then take the computer. It isn’t important to me anyway. My son’s physical wellness is. I know the sphere can heal Scott’s arm. He could return to his old job or do whatever he wants. We all owe him this chance.”

“I understand your motives,” Christina said calm again, “The idea itself is not what angers me. It’s only that you ignored me and decided it over my head. What did the general say to your proposal?” 

“I don’t know yet,” he answered. “I sent the e-mail this afternoon.”

“I’m sorry Paul, but am going to take your computer away for a week,” she said in a clearly unhappy tone. “Rules are rules. You broke them and you will pay the price. You will use my computer to send the general your daily e-mails, and I, or Mr. Fox, will be standing right over your shoulder watching you type word for word of it! And give me that cell phone Mr. Fox gave you yesterday too,” she demanded and held out her hand for it. What if he started calling the general or Jenny or Mr. Hayward without her knowledge? He could be working on other plans for all she knew.

Paul handed her the wireless phone from his shirt pocket, sad at how little she trusted him. 

“Mom, why does Paul need a sphere?” the child asked his mother. 

Christina tried to calm down before she gave him an answer. “He doesn’t need one, honey,” she replied. “It’s a secret between him and me.”

John giggled, oblivious to the seriousness of the discussion. “I have a sphere too. Lot’s of them!” he proudly told the people at the table and smiled. As soon as Christina saw how easy life was for her son, she relaxed and tousled his hair until he giggled again.

Scott, however, was not amused that this woman just treated his father like he was John’s age. He was also appalled at her restrictions regarding use of the computer. He felt sad to see his father was totally blind to it, or ignorant of it. Whatever the reason, he felt sorry for his dad now more than ever before. _How can he live like this with her? Doesn’t he see she pulls all his strings? Wake up and smell the roses, Dad._

Paul and Scott were in the upstairs bathroom. Paul helped his son again by putting toothpaste on his toothbrush and all the other little things, which normally required two hands to do. Scott had made a mess on the floor while he changed into the pajamas he had borrowed from his father. Paul continued picking up Scott’s clothes and brought it in his bedroom. 

“Why are you so sloppy?” he asked him, annoyed by his son’s untidiness. “This is the third time today I’ve cleaned up your clothes from the floor. Neatness is very important to Mr. Fox. If he sees your constant mess, he’ll explode.”

Scott chuckled with the foam in his mouth. “Maybe that would be the best thing for him to do.” 

“Pardon me?” Paul asked, irritated by the hate his son had for the man. Scott spit out the toothpaste and looked at him, then shrugged. He rinsed his mouth with water from the little paper cup and then tossed it in the wastebasket. Without any further comment, Scott dried his lips with a towel and went in his room. He closed the door without wishing anyone good night. 

Paul was alone in his spare room. He wished he had his new phone to call Jenny. Maybe she would give it back to him before the week was up. He felt he needed to hear her voice and ask for her advice. Living with his son now was much more difficult than it was when he was still a teenager. He wanted Scott to stay, but as long as he still had so much hate towards Christina and Mr. Fox, Paul felt it was better that he should leave. But then he remembered how much help his son needed with this injury to do everyday things. He doubted if Mr. Hayward was willing to care for him, when he knew his father was living in the same town and had enough time for his son’s care. He went downstairs and found Christina asleep on the couch in front of the TV. The dog lay on the floor on a blanket she had prepared for him and did the same. 

He turned off the television and read the clock above it. It read 11PM. He wondered if he should wake her or let her sleep where she was. He decided to do the former and touched her on her shoulder. She immediately felt his energy and opened her eyes. 

“What is it? Is something wrong?”

“No,” he answered. “I heard the TV and saw the light on down here. I came down and found you sleeping. I just thought you’d rather sleep in your bed than on the couch.”

She looked at the clock and said, “Yes. I guess I should go to bed. Thank you.”

###    
**Chapter 13**  


Sparky heard noise in the house and barked, trying to wake somebody. At the same time, Christina awakened because she heard something unusual. A look to her nightstand alarm clock told her it was 4:11 AM. She heard the disturbance again over the dog’s constant barking. _What was that?_

The house security alarm went off and her heart began racing. She listened. The noises came from the basement. _Oh my God_ , she thought, _a burglar. What am I going do now?_ She wanted to panic, but willed herself to calm down. Her first thought went to her son, who slept in the next room. Throughout the house a soft steady beeping could be heard. Her next thought was she was all alone. Mr. Fox didn’t sleep upstairs tonight, not to think of her husband. Enlisting Paul’s help was out of the question. She was supposed to protect him at all costs, not vice versa. There was nobody who really could help her. She must face the situation by herself. _The gun_ , she thought and went to get it from her closet. It was the same gun she used when they visited the ranch last September. She said she never wanted to touch it again, but she had to break her promise. She turned on the light, put her bathrobe over her nightgown and opened the drawer of her nightstand to retrieve the keys for the locked cases where she kept her pistol and bullets. She hastily loaded the weapon and went to see after her son. The dog was still excited, but she ignored him. She turned on the light and went to his bed. The child was in deep sleep. Christina hastily woke him, and soon the constant barking of the dog pushed the sleep out of him. He asked what happened and sensed her fear. It was enough for him to panic and start crying.

“Come, John. Come with me!” she ordered and took him by his hand. With the gun in her other hand, she dragged him to the stairs and pushed him upwards. At the same time, Paul came out of his bedroom. He was awakened by the dog’s warning and wanted to see what was going on. When he turned on the corridor light, he shielded his sleepy eyes. He went to the start of the stairs and saw Sparky coming up with Christina holding a pistol, pushing John ahead of her. He was immediately awake. Adrenalin rushed through his body. Scott came out of his room. He only saw Christina with the handgun. 

“You two stay here. Don’t go downstairs. Do you hear?” she ordered and handed Paul her son. 

“What is this?” he asked, meaning the noise, while he picked up the crying child in his arms. 

“Somebody’s broken into the house. Stay here,” she said again and hushed everyone, including the dog, back in Paul’s bedroom.

“What are you going to do?” Scott asked, his heroic side awakened. “I can come with you.”

“No! I can’t be worrying about you if you encounter the suspect. I can handle this. The police are on their way right now. You stay here. Do you understand?” she ordered and pushed him back with the other arm and closed the door. 

Her heart pounded. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but she was trained for these kinds of scenarios and she instinctively remembered that training. She went downstairs and carefully opened the locked door to the basement. She turned on the light and listened. There was no noise any more, except for the constant beeping from the alarm. It was louder here, because the alarm was installed in the basement, directly in the room they had set up the new vault. 

“I’m warning you I’m a government agent and I’m armed! Give up and come out of your hiding place now and you won’t be hurt!” she said, giving the intruder his or her only legal warning before proceeding downstairs. If a gunfight were to erupt now, she’d legally be cleared of the charges if she wounded the intruder and not killed them. With the gun ready to use, she carefully went downstairs and looked for the burglar. She saw the window had been forcibly opened. She turned on the light in every room and looked inside, but the burglar was gone. She checked the vault last. It had been opened and the contents were scattered on the floor. 

“Oh what a mess!” she said loudly and lowered her gun. 

Papers were all over and the plastic containers where the spheres were stored had been opened, too. The burglar had used brutal force to open the small containers. He must have been very disappointed what he found there, because when she looked around she saw the spheres laying in the mess. She bent to get them and checked them. Mr. Fox once told her the spheres didn’t show any fingerprints. The metal was something very special and when she touched the sphere, the visible print disappeared almost immediately. She relaxed a little. They were the originals. At least the burglar thought the spheres were useless and threw them away. Instead, he or she was interested in the jewels she had stored here when they moved in. She bent down and checked the empty jewel cases. Everything was gone. It was expensive jewelry, something she got from her family when she married. Now she felt regret coming up inside her. She stood up and checked the open vault. She knew she shouldn’t touch it until the police were finished dusting it for prints. She was amazed how easily the thief had opened it. Did the thief have the combination? It was the only explanation she could think of, otherwise how could the perpetrator open it so quickly without force? The vault was much smaller than the one on the compound, but the company who delivered it, said the vault had the highest security level possible. Some moments later she heard the police sirens and went to open the door for them.

An hour later Christina sat in the living room and tried to calm down her frightened son, who had cuddled up on her lap. The police officers called in a detective to search the basement for fingerprints, while they searched around the broken window by the garden for signs of entry. They found a crowbar the burglar used to gain access to the basement and several shoe prints in the flower garden. Once they had eliminated Paul’s shoe prints from the others, they concluded the burglar was a male. They assumed he had escaped over the fence to next door. In the neighbor’s garden they found more shoe prints. One of the police officers took a seat next to Christina and asked her what she had seen or heard. Paul and Scott were sitting in the living room too, a little shocked, but happy that nothing more had happened. She told the officer all she knew and he thanked her. When the police were done with their work they told her she could put the things back in the vault and clean up. Since Christina was busy with the child, Paul let the police out of the house. While she shifted John’s weight from one side to the other, the pocket of her bathrobe was in a bad position and one of the spheres fell out. She didn’t feel it, but when John hugged her to seek more comfort, he felt the round form and grabbed it. At that moment, his mother took his arms off her and asked him to sit on the couch. She stood up and John looked at the thing he found there. It was a sphere. He had a game with such spheres and thought he forgot it there when he played with it the last time. No one saw him put it in his pocket.

“I’m going to call George. Can you make some coffee, please?” she asked Paul, still disturbed over the events. She looked to John and saw him yawning. “You better try to sleep an hour or two if you can honey. I’ll call your teacher and tell her what happened. I don’t want you to go to school today.” The child was reasonable and did what she wanted. “I’ll be with you in a minute,” his mother shouted when he went to his room. Then she looked for her phone and called Mr. Fox. She told him what happened and he said he was on his way there immediately.

“I’m only glad the burglar thought the spheres are worthless,” she said, when she sat down at the table in the kitchen. “He had opened the plastic containers where they were stored. I found them on the floor on top of all the files we collected from you over the years.”

Unconsciously, she reached in her bathrobe to check if they were still there. She felt only one sphere. In the next second, she became frantic and stood up. She hastily turned the pocket inside out, but there was only one sphere. Her glance went from Paul to Scott.

“Where’s the other one?” she asked them threateningly.

“I don’t have it,” Paul admitted as calmly as possible. When she looked to Scott, he said he didn’t have it either.

“If you want to kid around with me, this is not the time to do it,” she warned them again. “I had both of them in my pocket. Where’s the other one?” she asked again, this time more desperately than before.

“Calm down,” Paul said. “We’ll find it. If you say you had it, then it must be there somewhere. Maybe it fell out when you sat on the couch with John.”

She gave him an angry stare and went to check behind the cushions and searched the floor, but she couldn’t see it. The doorbell rang. She knew it was Mr. Fox. What would he say if she had to tell him she lost one of the spheres? 

“Oh God, help me,” she said and went to open it. Mr. Fox didn’t wait for her and dashed into the room, almost acting as if he had another heart attack. 

“Oh Christina,” he said and took her by her upper arms. “Is everything okay with you and your kid? Where’s Paul and Scott?” He saw the two approaching with Jenny’s little dog. They looked fine. “Oh thank goodness,” he said relieved. “Where are the spheres?” he asked as soon as he had seen everyone was all right.

“I’m so sorry,” Christina began, and stopped. She was afraid to tell him the truth. Instead, she handed him the only one she had. 

“Where’s the other one?” he wanted to know. There was confusion in his eyes.

“Somehow it got lost. I had it in my bathrobe pocket, but when I checked it was gone.”

With a sudden movement he turned his head to Paul. “Where is it?” Mr. Fox asked him angrily.

Paul repeated the same answer he had given the woman earlier. “I don’t have it.” 

“I think you know exactly where it is. Give it back!” the short man shouted.

“Hand me the one you have and I can home in the other sphere.”

“Are you nuts?” Fox replied, reacting to his proposal. He tried to remain calm to show everyone the situation was still under his control, but it was hard. “I’ll give you a last chance. Give the sphere back. We’ll find it anyway.”

They eyed each other until Fox thought it was long enough. He went to Paul. “Turn around!” he ordered and the Starman obeyed. “Put your hands on the wall,” he ordered and Fox began searching him. Sparky immediately started barking at the agent. “Shut up!” George yelled furiously at him and continued. Paul was only wearing his pajamas. He hadn’t any pockets where he could hide the sphere. Scott just stood there, angry that they always suspected his father as the thief.

When Fox couldn’t find anything, his attention went towards Scott. “Now you!” he ordered and pushed him to the wall before he was able to protest.

“I don’t have it!” Scott shouted, while the man searched him too. 

“We’ll see about that!” the ex-agent answered and kept searching. In his frenzy to find the precious orbs, he forgot about Scott’s shoulder injury and moved the young man’s arm up onto the wall. It was too high and Scott cried out in pain, falling to his knees, clutching his sore arm. 

“Get your damn hands off me you bastard!” he shouted at Fox. The dog was still excited and Christina called him to her. Fox was taken aback at Scott’s outburst and regretted hurting him. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized in a calmer voice. 

Forrester’s son looked at him with fury in his eyes. Paul went to assist Scott stand.

“Where can it be?” he asked Christina again, now more desperate. “Where have you searched?”

“Practically everywhere,” she said, embarrassed that this could happen to her. John came out of his room, the shouting haven awakened him again. He saw that Mr. Fox was very angry. He went to his mother and sought protection. He was afraid of the man.

“Why is Mr. Fox so mad?” the boy asked and his mother bent down and told him, “We have lost Paul’s sphere. You know the one we talked about yesterday. It’s very valuable. Have you seen it? It looks like a pinball. Like one of yours from the game grandma bought you for Christmas.”

“Yes, I found it. I thought it’s one of mine.”

Suddenly everybody turned to face the boy. 

“Where is it now?” Christina asked cautiously. She saw how the momentary attention John got had frightened him. He pointed to his room.

“Show me,” she gently ordered and her son lead her and the others to his room. He went to a box where he kept the other spheres from his game. Inside there were at least thirty or forty spheres the size of a pinball and ones that were smaller with totally different colors. Before the others could stop him, John spread them all on the floor. The spheres rolled everywhere. At first glance, there were at least ten duplicates to the shiny silver marble that belonged to a race of beings far beyond our solar system.

“Heaven help us,” Fox said desperately and began picking up the spheres that were silver and putting them on John’s bed. “We’ll never find it.”

“I have a riddle for you Scott,” Paul said and Scott saw a smile on his father’s face. “Can you pick the right sphere out?”

While Mr. Fox still picked up silver orb after orb, Scott went to the mess and bent down. “Do you see it? Because I don’t.”

Paul came to the many spheres and picked one up, which had rolled under John’s desk. He examined it and gave it a moment later to Christina.

“And how can I be sure this is the right one?” she asked, dumbfounded. 

“Yes, she’s right,” Mr. Fox said and stood up from what he was doing. “We don’t know if this is the right one. Give it to me.” 

She handed him the sphere and he examined it. He watched closely and saw his fingerprints disappear. This was indeed the genuine article. He looked at Paul and closed his hand around the marble. One part of him was amazed the alien had surrendered the source of his power so quickly, without any resistance. Unpleasant memories of being master to the slave returned. 

“Put this one with the other one,” he said to Christina, but held his gaze on Forrester. The two exchanged a silent thank you and you’re welcome. 

 

Fox helped Christina putting the papers back in the vault, and the spheres of course as well. The plastic containers they used to store them were broken. For the moment, he put them in the vault as they were, stored in a plastic bag. The vault itself was unharmed and worked as it was supposed to after they had it tested. A phone call to the glass company revealed they would come and fix the window tomorrow at the soonest. They ordered iron bars to put over the basement windows to make it hard for the next burglar to get into the house.

 

Meanwhile, Paul and Scott went upstairs and went over to their usual routine of the day. Again, Paul helped his son washing and doing the usual morning regiment. Scott went to his father’s bedroom to change from his nightclothes into a pair of jeans and a shirt. Paul was in his extra room when he saw his son come in. Scott was fully dressed and wore cowboy boots and a leather jacket, which he had never seen before. He also saw Scott’s bag at his side, which indicated he wanted to leave. Paul couldn’t take his eyes from his son’s outfit. He wore a modern black leather biker jacket, which made him look quite manly.

“I like your jacket. Where did you get it?”

“Val bought it for me before she brought me to the airport in Rhodes. It looks cool, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does. It fits you perfectly.”

While Paul was still eying Scott from head to toe, the young man said, “I’m leaving now, Dad. I’m sorry, but I can’t live in this house.”

Paul stood up and looked worried. “But you promised your mother you’d stay here. You’re still sick. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know. Just anywhere away from here. I can’t stay or I’ll go crazy.” He turned around, took his bag and headed for the stairs. “I’m not going to be treated like a criminal. I’m not a puppet on a string like you are, Dad. I’m sorry.” He ran to the stairs, heading for the door, ignoring Christina and George who sat in the kitchen, busy eating brunch and calming down.

“Scott, stay here!” Paul shouted after him and grabbed his jacket sleeve when he had caught up with him. Unfortunately, he grabbed Scott by his injured arm, and when he pulled him back, Scott began screaming in pain and dropped the bag. 

Scott eyed his father angrily, while he held his hurting shoulder. “Are you out of your mind? First she hurts me, then Fox, and now you! Why did you do this?”

“I’m sorry son. I just grabbed your sleeve to stop you. I didn’t think which one,” was Paul’s only excuse. He didn’t know what else to say. He really was sorry that he forgot that Scott’s shoulder was so sensitive. The others came in the corridor to see what went on. Paul told them Scott wanted to leave the house. As soon as the pain eased off, Scott grabbed his bag and headed to the door. He gave his father an icy stare when he turned the knob and went outside. Sparky heard somebody leaving and ran to the door. He barked and wanted to follow, but Paul held him back by his collar. 

“Scott!” he yelled after him, but his son didn’t turn around and continued walking. Paul wanted to run after him, but he knew he wasn’t allowed to go out of the house without George or Christina. The dog kept pulling to go outside. He sadly closed the door.

“He’ll try if Mr. Hayward offers him shelter,” Christina said, trying to calm him. “Don’t worry about him. We’ll drive up to the ranch this afternoon, okay?”

 

When Scott arrived at the ranch, he went directly to the stable. Fond memories floated back to his head when he smelled the hay and the scent of horses. _God, I missed this._

He heard a noise in the loft. Somebody threw hay down for the horses evening feed.

“Hello, it’s me, Scott,” he shouted up until he saw Richard’s and Ben’s head appearing in the opening.

“Hi, Scotty. You couldn’t bear it there any longer, eh?” the rancher asked and laughed. Both men came down the ladder. Richard hugged Scott like a son and Scott felt like he’d come home. 

“You’ll never guess what happened this morning,” he said and began telling them the news. He especially complained about how Fox had treated him and his father. “I couldn’t stay there any longer. Can I stay here?” he asked Mr. Hayward. 

The rancher took him by the good shoulder and said, “Sure you can. I told you you’re always welcome back here. I won’t send you back there if you don’t want to go.” He grabbed his bag and brought Scott in his house. 

 

Scott changed into comfortable clothes he found in a box the rancher had kept of his personal things, which he didn’t want to take on his adventure. Richard told him he had to leave today for a business trip and would return tomorrow. Scott went again in the stable and found Ben saddling the gelding. He welcomed Loredo as an old friend. It was always his favorite horse to ride before he quit his job. He watched Ben for a while.

“You’re a perfect farm hand, Mr. Wylie,” he told him. “You work with horses very well.”

“Thank you,” Ben replied, still busy saddling the horse.

“Why did you accept the offer to take over my job? I heard you retired.”

Ben shrugged. He thought that Scott knew only very little what happened in the last months when he had left the country.

“Is it because of your wife?”

“Partly,” Wylie answered and was finished with his task. He took the reins and went outside. Scott followed him.

“She wants a divorce,” Ben told him when he mounted the horse. “The problem is, I must admit, I still love her, despite all the things she has done to your father and you and everything. I needed distance to find out what I am and what I want. I couldn’t go on with my job and my life as it was. Then they moved your father to Solvang and they told me she’s going to have a baby.”

Scott was shocked. He didn’t know the woman was pregnant. Nobody had told him the news. 

“A baby? ….. Your baby?” he asked, eager to hear what he had to say about it. If Ben was working here all the time and they had separated, how was the woman pregnant? He suddenly had a bad feeling in his guts.

Ben only shrugged. “She tells me it’s mine, but it could be that you’ll get a little stepbrother or a stepsister.”

Scott almost exploded. The news was too much for him. “What? You’re saying my father fathered your wife’s unborn child?”

“I don’t say anything, Scott. I’ve talked to her and to Paul. Both keep telling me it’s nonsense, but it’s hard to accept. When it’s born, a paternity test will show the truth.”

“What?” Scott asked again, still feeling weak knees over hearing the news. He had enough of paternity tests and mothers who claimed the wrong men to be the father of their child. He had to sit down and think. 

“I’m sorry that nobody told you the news. I thought you knew it already.” Ben urged the horse on and left Scott sitting on a log.

 _Dad wouldn’t be so stupid to father another woman with another half alien child_ , Scott thought. _No, I don’t believe this. Ben must be mistaken._ But then he remembered how close his father was to this woman. Could it be when Ben was gone they somehow had sexual contact? He shuddered involuntary at the thought, because he didn’t like Mrs. Wylie. _No, they like each other, but there was nothing else between them._ His mother would have informed him by now and it looked like his father still loved his mother. If she had her doubts, she would have told him when he talked to her. Another thought crossed his mind. Would the general allow Paul his freedom without sterilizing him like they insisted they do to him? Richard said he wouldn’t be home. Scott decided to walk back to Christina’s house to have a talk with his dad. He considered taking his car, which was stored in the carport of his mother’s cabin, but then he thought it would be hard to steer and control the automatic with only one arm. He began walking.

 

Christina spent the whole day on the phone. She talked to the police, the general and the insurance company. General Ryder was very angry when he heard there was another attempt to open the vault by an unauthorized person. Slowly he got the impression that the vault wasn’t a good place to store the spheres any more. They talked about Paul’s question of borrowing one of the spheres to heal Scott’s shoulder as well. Christina couldn’t tell him if she trusted Paul enough to carry out his request, how long it would take, or if he wanted to try something else as well, but she also told him that he had the sphere in his hands today and handed it back without resistance. The general said he would come tomorrow in person to see how they lived, and to see if he would allow Paul his request.

 

Paul was upstairs working on new ideas how to make money without going to work. He had an idea and borrowed the silver spheres from John’s game. He thought if he was able to combine art together with the spheres, he might be able to sell them to a company who produced ball bearings. Perhaps he could make a calendar out of the pictures. 

Christina heard the brass bell outside, opened the door and was surprised to see Scott again. “You came back.”

“Yes, may I come in?”

While she went in the corridor and let Scott close the door, she shouted up towards the stairs, “Paul! Come down! Scott’s back!”

She went in the living room, withdrawing herself from any further contact with the young man. Scott waited in the corridor, not knowing exactly what he should say or how he should start the conversation. Paul came downstairs and was very happy that his son had returned. He greeted him with a big hug and told him again how sorry he was he had hurt him earlier. That was the last problem on Scott’s mind. He said he was sorry too and returned the embrace. 

“I need to talk to you,” he said. 

“Sure,” Paul answered. “Let’s go upstairs.”

“No, I need to talk to you and Mrs. Wylie.”

Paul raised an eyebrow and took him softly by the good shoulder. “What is it you want to talk to us about?”

They went in Christina’s living room where they found her sitting on the couch, filling out insurance papers. 

“Scott wants to talk to us both,” Paul informed her. 

She was puzzled and wondered what the young man wanted to know. They all took a seat. Scott sat next to his father, and they waited for him to begin.

“Uh,” Scott started, “I went to the ranch and met your husband. He told me about your pregnancy.”

Christina knew now what would follow and snarled, “If he told you about his doubts that he is the father of the child, forget it, okay? I know what you want to say. Ben probably told you he suspects your father of being my child’s father, but it’s bullshit. Do you think the government would allow your father to have another child? Everybody knows that I’m pregnant, even Fox and the general. If they have doubts, do you think I would sit here and fill out insurance papers?”

“She’s right,” Paul added and sought eye contact with Scott. 

What Scott saw in his father’s eyes was total honesty. He wasn’t a person who lied to others when it was as important as this. 

“I’m sorry, Dad, for what I believed or rather didn’t believe,” Scott said. “But I was so confused when he talked to me and told me about the baby. I wasn’t sure what to think and wanted to talk to you.”

“It was right to come and ask,” his father replied and gave him an encouraging fatherly squeeze to his left shoulder. He was very aware to touch him from now on only on his good arm. 

Scott looked to Christina, but she was busy again filling out the papers, so Paul asked, “Are you staying here tonight? We could set up the extra bed Christina was talking about.”

“I don’t know,” Scott replied. “Richard allowed me to sleep in his house, but he went on a business trip overnight. Is Fox sleeping here tonight?”

“Not that I know,” he answered and looked at Christina.

She shook her head no.

Scott thought a moment what he should do. All of his things were already in Richard’s house, but he would have to spend the night all by himself and nobody was there to cook for him, except Ben. He didn’t want to empty Richard’s refrigerator without asking. He thought he could get something to eat on the way back to the ranch, but then he remembered he hadn’t any money at all. Maybe staying for another night wouldn’t be so bad after all if he would get something to eat. It was also a long walk back and his feet were already tired. Cowboy boots were definitely made for riding, not walking. 

“If someone would invite me for dinner, I guess I could stay another night.” 

Paul chuckled. Some things never changed. His son’s thoughts after all these years, and after becoming an adult, were still occupied with food, if girls didn’t distract him. 

 

Father and son spent the afternoon partly upstairs, where Paul showed him his new idea. Later they went in the garden to play with Sparky and Christina’s son. They didn’t notice Christina’s mood had changed after the conversation when Scott came back. She volunteered to prepare everything for a barbeque outside. She was very withdrawn while they ate. Both thought it was because of the morning’s experience. When Paul asked if she was all right she confirmed their presumption. The woman looked tired, and when John was in bed, she said an early goodnight. 

 

Scott’s cold was almost gone and he was in high spirits this evening. Both Paul and Scott talked to Jenny using the house phone before they went to bed. She told them Dr. Woo treated not only her stomach, but also her psychical condition, and they were talking to find out the cause of her illness. To both men’s relief, she told them she was feeling as strong today as she hadn’t felt in a long time. 

“I want to go and see her,” Scott said, when the telephone conversation had ended. Paul sighed. 

“You better stay here. I want to see her badly too, but this experience is very important for her. Leave her alone while she must stay there. It won’t be forever.”

Now Scott sighed. He knew his father was right, but was hard not to be with his mother when he thought she needed him now more than ever.

“You know, Scott, I think your leaving basically caused her illness,” Paul told him. 

“Why only my leaving? I think everything that happened in the last six months caused her illness.”

“You’re her only child,” his father said. “She loves you more than anything else.”

“Except you. I love her too. We’re very close you know.”

“Yes, I know,” Paul answered with a hint of jealousy in his voice and stood up to get the extra bed.

###    
**Chapter 14**  


Since he didn’t know where the extra bed was stored, and didn’t want to disturb Christina, Paul went to sleep again in Mr. Fox’s room. In spite of the day’s dreadful beginning, he drifted off easily. He woke up around 5:30 AM and heard the birds singing outside. It was almost April and the birds were giving a concert outside. When he listened harder, he heard another sound. It was barely audible, but it sounded like sobbing. Where was it coming from? He stood up and listened again. He opened the door to the room and determined the sound came from downstairs. Carefully and quietly, he went downstairs without turning on the light. The sobbing sound became stronger. He found the source of the crying and stopped outside Christina’s bedroom. He knocked on the door. 

“Christina, it’s me,” Paul said softly and waited for a response. Nobody answered, but the sobbing stopped. He knocked again and decided to open the door. “Is everything okay?” he asked, when he saw a silhouette straighten up in bed. She still did not answer him. “May I come in?” he asked and came closer to her bedside without waiting for permission. He saw Christina tried to wipe away her tears in the darkness. 

“Did I wake you up?” she asked, trying again to be the strong woman she was. 

“Yes. I heard you crying,” he said and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Why are you so sad?”

Christina did her best to put on a strong front, but now her usual poker face dissolved. “Oh Paul,” she said and began crying again, “Ben tells everyone lies about the baby. He’s so mean. Why doesn’t he want the child? Sometimes I think I’d be better off if I aborted the child. It would be better for me and for my job as well.”

Paul was shocked, but he was tender enough to take her in his arms and allow her to cry on his shoulder. He began stroking her hair. When he touched her, he received a jumble of emotional feelings from her.

“You don’t want to have an abortion, do you, Christina?”

She looked up into his eyes. She knew they were blue as the sea, although the room was only half lightened by the dawn. 

“I don’t know what to do, Paul. Perhaps I’m too old to have another child. When it’s born, I won’t have as much time for you or my other child any more. I must care all alone for this tiny new person. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to go through all of this by myself.”

She started crying again and Paul was not able to calm her. He began soothing her verbally. After a while her sobbing stopped, but she didn’t want to end the body contact.

“This child is something very special, Christina,” he said. “It’s a gift from God for two people who love each other. You conceived this child, because God wanted you to be its mother. You need it, just as I gave Scott to Jenny all those years ago when she needed him. If Ben doesn’t want her, I’ll help you raise this child and help you anytime you need me. You’ll be so proud of your daughter and thank the Creator every minute that this child came into your life.” 

“Why do you think it’ll be a girl?” she asked, surprised that he had given the child a gender.

“Because I simply know. I’m a sensitive extraterrestrial. Do you remember when I told you, you would get a boy when you were pregnant with John?”

She laughed a little. “Yes, I hated you for telling me that. It wasn’t a surprise any more.”

“I’m sorry I’ve taken away your surprise again,” he said. “Will you forgive me?”

Her strength had returned and they separated from the embrace. She looked in his eyes. “I’ll forgive you. Thanks for your reassurance. I still feel sad, but somehow better. It’s tough to face this mess alone, but I could never abort my child.”

“I knew that,” he said and brushed her tears away with his thumb.

 

Scott woke up too, and after his father went downstairs, he followed him, but hid himself behind the half open door. He secretly listened to the conversation and he saw how wrong he was when it came to judging the woman. The conversation moved him to tears. He saw she wasn’t so tough, strong and severe as she appeared to be. Listening to the discussion, he understood how close she was to Paul and vice versa, but they were only friends and nothing else. Christina wanted only the best for his father and for the others probably as well. Scott wasn’t sure if he was included too, but at the moment it didn’t matter. When he heard Paul leaving her and telling her she should try to sleep some more, he hurried back upstairs. 

 

Scott heard Christina getting up a half hour later and he decided to get up as well. He looked in his father’s room and heard him lightly snoring. He smiled and closed the door. Sparky was wagging his tail when he looked down. The dog appeared from nowhere. Just when he wanted to bark, Scott silenced him by putting his finger to his mouth. 

“You’ll get your food in a minute,” Scott softly said. They both went downstairs, Sparky in the lead. When the dog found Christina in the kitchen preparing breakfast for herself, he barked nevertheless.

“Be quiet, dog,” Christina said, irritated. “I’ll feed you, but don’t bark. You’ll wake the whole house.”

Scott appeared in the kitchen and said good morning. She returned his greeting, but looked surprised because he came alone.

“My dad’s still asleep,” he explained. Scott sat down at the table and Christina gave Sparky a half can of dog food. 

“What do you want to eat?” she asked as she put her own plate filled with toast and jam on the table.

“I’ll have the same thing you’re having,” he said and Christina put two slices of bread in the toaster. 

The coffee was ready and she poured a cup for him as well. She sat down at the table and began reading the paper, ignoring him. Scott took the toast when it popped up and put it on a plate, carrying it to the table and sat down. Like always, it was a little difficult to spread butter, and then jam, on the bread with just one hand, but he managed and began eating. 

He watched her a while, then he said, “I heard you this morning talking to my father about your baby.”

Christina stopped reading and eyed him. “You eavesdropped?”

“I’m sorry, but I heard you crying and went downstairs and heard Dad talking to you. I just stayed out of sight and listened to the conversation. What are you going to do about it?”

She took a sip of the coffee. “I’m having this child and will raise it, all alone if necessary.” Christina appeared determined and strong as she was earlier this morning, but also hurt that the father of her child didn’t show any responsibility.

Scott looked at Christina and was impressed by her. She fought for her baby against all the difficulties she had to face. Somehow she reminded him of his mother, when she fought for having a child of a Starman.

Scott went upstairs again and waited until his father finally woke up. He went in the spare room and looked at all the things he saw there. He liked his father’s fishes. Where did he get those? Scott regarded again the designed pictures his father had shown him yesterday. Some had different sized spheres, but he wondered why his dad had only used the silver ones. John had so many other colored marbles. The combination of art and spheres was excellent. He wished him good luck carrying out his idea.

 

After Paul had woken up and ate breakfast, Christina wanted to go shopping and shouted upstairs for Paul to come down and join her. Both he and Scott came downstairs. Paul wanted to drop off the film for development. Scott asked if she could drive him up to the ranch. She agreed to do him the favor. They all put on their jackets. When she opened the door, they saw Fox’s car approaching the driveway. She was surprised why he showed up so early. He wasn’t supposed to arrive for work for two more days. They waited for him to get out of the car. When he approached the small group, he had a DVD jacket in his hands and appeared to be very annoyed.

“Hello Mr. Fox, “ Christina greeted him. “Paul and I were just going to go shopping and I was going drop Scott off at the ranch.”

“You won’t drop him anywhere. Not until he has answered me a couple of questions.”

The short man roughly hustled Scott back in the house. 

“What’s the matter now?” Scott angrily asked, while Fox kept on pushing him towards the living room, while Sparky yapped and followed them. “I haven’t done anything wrong. You can’t force me to stay here,” he protested. They had reached the living room and Fox pushed Scott to sit down on the couch. 

“Does your mother have anything to do with this?” he asked him with a sharp voice, which reminded Scott of being interrogated, and gave him the DVD jacket. 

Scott read the title. It said Taken by Stephen Spielberg. He remembered seeing ads last year for this brand new show, but never watched it when it was on the air. It was about aliens who kidnapped people. His mother watched the show. She really liked it and never missed an episode.

“Why are you asking me this?” he said. “My mother watched the show. I didn’t.”

“I saw the pilot film yesterday for the first time by coincidence,” Mr. Fox said and looked down to Scott with angry eyes. “I almost fell from the chair when I saw how much the writer of this show borrowed from Mrs. Hayden’s past. You should see the alien who started all this mess. He doesn’t look like your father, but acts exactly like him. His ship crashed and the alien found refuge with a woman. He could make himself look like a human. The woman kept him and they fell in love. Before she helped him leave the planet, because the military found out where he was, he fathered her a son. You should see what the boy looks like. He looks just like you when you were his age.”

“So?” Scott asked. “That doesn’t mean my mother has anything to do with this movie. The theme is very common. Just remember ET. The kids helped ET go home too.”

“Yes,” George answered, “But this is different. Later in the movie, the mother of the alien child had to give her son away because the military wanted the boy. You don’t think this is too much of a coincidence? The best part is they even used the name of my agents back then. Agent Wylie to be exact.”

“You’re kidding, aren’t you?” Christina said, astonished.

“Do I look like I’m joking around?”

“Do you know anything about this?” Fox asked Paul, who sat down and took the DVD cover out of Scott’s hand and read the description.

“No,” he replied sincerely. “Why should I?”

Mr. Fox insisted they watch the movie now. Christina didn’t care if somebody entwined Forrester’s life story in this movie project, and stayed to watch, although she rather wanted to go and buy groceries. It was really fascinating when they showed how the alien came to earth and how the woman helped him to escape before the military found him. There was much more going on in the film, but this part was just like the first chapter Jenny had written in her book. She laughed when they came to the scene when the military officer, who wanted to get the alien so badly, called one of his agents Wylie. It was hard to believe all this was only coincidence. When they showed the alien’s son, Scott began chuckling. There were really a lot of similarities with him when he was this age, and the alien compared to his father as well. Scott knew his mother had nothing to do with the series project. She didn’t know Stephen Spielberg or any other movie producer, although she always dreamt of turning her book into a movie.

Paul found the parts how the alien came to earth, met the woman and escaped, the best. He was impressed how much was borrowed from his own past, but it wasn’t exactly the same either. The rest of the movie bored him. The aliens constantly kidnapped humans and there were so many characters in the show that he soon didn’t know any more who belonged to whom. By the middle of the movie he fell asleep. He still wore his old leather jacket, which was so cozy and warm, he couldn’t keep his eyes open, although he tried his best to follow the story. His head fell back and rested on the backrest of the couch. Soon he began snoring. Scott started giggling as quietly as possible, and a little while later Christina joined him. Fox found it frustrating how Paul reacted to this series. He sat beside Paul and gave him a nudge to wake him up. They watched the first episode to the end, but Paul fell asleep twice during the show. Every time Fox woke him up, angry that this movie bored him so much. It helped only for a little while. When the program ended, George took the DVD out of the player and inserted it in the cover again. He slammed the cover against Paul’s chest. The Starman woke up immediately and grabbed the case, which Mr. Fox held to his chest. He blinked the sleep away.

“You can keep this movie, Forrester,” Fox said threateningly, “But I’m going to have a talk with Mrs. Hayden when she’s back. If I find out that she has anything to do with Mr. Spielberg’s successful alien series, she’s in big trouble. I mean really big trouble.”

He left them without any further words and headed for the door, angry about the contents of the film, and angry that nobody wanted to admit or see that Jennifer Hayden fooled him a second time. 

It was almost 3PM when the movie ended. Christina was running very late. She still needed to go shopping, but her son would return from school in one hour and there wasn’t much time left any more. She hurried the men along with the dog into the car, and as promised, dropped Scott at the driveway up to the ranch.

“When will I see you?” Paul asked when his son climbed out of the car. He held the dog back because Sparky wanted to go with Scott.

“I don’t know. Not so soon I guess.”

“Why?” his father asked, hoping his son would change his mind.

“Because I think it’s more peaceful here. And as you said, Fox will be coming in a day or so and I want to evade him if possible.”

Although Paul wanted to have Scott around and enjoy his company more often, he understood why his son didn’t. He was used to Fox’s outbreaks of temper now and then, but his son wasn’t. They said good-bye to each other and Scott promised to give him a call in the next few days.

 

George came again Friday and had cooled down in the meantime. Nevertheless, he had tried to contact Mr. Spielberg, but he was only able to reach one of his offices, and when he told him his worries to the extent allowed, they assured him the story was made up and that they never heard of Jenny Hayden before. He asked where Scott was, and when he heard Mr. Hayward had invited him to stay at the ranch, he wasn’t sad about it at all. Scott wasn’t used to living under the same conditions his father had to live, and that only meant trouble and double attention when father and son were together. The day was very hot again and John wanted to go swimming. Christina went with him in the pool and George had to see what Paul was doing. Fox knew Forrester didn’t know how to swim and proposed to teach him. In the beginning the Starman didn’t want to learn at all. He was careful when he approached the pool and still had fears of slipping. He always loved water, but not knowing how to swim, and his accident, made him fearful. George talked him over and was eager to teach him. Paul on the other hand, did what Fox wanted, just to end his insistence. In the end, Paul was in the swimming pool and George was at the edge giving Christina instructions what she had to do with him. 

As she put it, “You need to learn how to swim if you’re going to live with a pool in the backyard. Rule number one is safety: never swim alone. Either Mr. Fox or I must be with you if you want to go swimming.” 

He nodded. They were in the shallow end. John was too and watched with interest what his mother and Fox did with Forrester. 

“John, show Paul how I taught you to swim,” she said, and the boy did his best to give a good performance. He swam one lap around the pool, but he wore his wings for safety. Paul didn’t have any. When John was at her side again, she said, “Did you see what he did? Now you try. Don’t be afraid. I’ll hold you.”

Paul was reluctant, but he lowered his body in the water and made the same swimming movements as Christina’s son did. She held onto his chest and gave him no chance to get his head under water. 

“More arm and leg movement,” George ordered from the edge and watched the scene with eagle eyes. 

John went in front and Christina followed him walking, while she held onto Paul who did his best to swim as they had taught him. She stopped when they reached deeper water and she felt she didn’t have any more strength to hold Paul. He stopped his arm and leg movements, stood and sought the pool’s bottom with his feet. They went back to where the water was shallow and tried it again. Once more, John went in front and Paul tried to swim after him. With Christina’s support, he felt more secure and almost enjoyed it. After a while of intense training they urged him to try it alone.

“I’m walking beside you,” Christina assured him and Paul began swimming by himself. He repeated the same strokes, but as soon as he felt his body being under more water than before, he stopped and stood. 

“Don’t be afraid. The water will carry you,” she assured him. “Just make sure you keep moving your arms and legs like we showed you.”

He was unsure what to do until Fox encouraged him. “You won’t drown, Forrester.”

It took all of Paul’s courage, but he tried it once more. He stopped after three strokes. 

“That was good. Do it again,” they ordered him.

“Did I swim already?” he asked her, not knowing if this was what swimming was all about.

“Yes. Congratulations. You swam all by yourself. Next time try four strokes before you stop.”

He tried it and stopped when he came to deeper water. Christina never went away from his side. They went back to the shallow end.

“Now try to float. It gives you a better feeling for the water,” she said and showed him what she wanted him to do. Paul did as she instructed, but only because he knew she had one hand on his back and the other below his head. 

“The secret to floating is keeping your body and back straight. I’ll let you go now. Don’t panic. I won’t let anything happen to you.” 

He looked a little afraid at first, but relaxed when everything stayed the same when she withdrew her hands, except that his body sank a little deeper in the water. She stayed beside him, but didn’t support him any more.

“How do you feel?” she wanted to know.

Her voice sounded strange with his ears underwater. “I like floating,” he said.

“Careful,” Fox warned from above when he saw John produce a wave with his swimming movements and saw it coming towards them. Christina immediately held Paul by his neck when the wave came and swept water over his head. He was glad she was by his side when this happened. Paul stopped floating and stood back on his feet. After that, he was too insecure and they took a little break. Paul climbed out to get dry. He decided he had enough for today and would rather watch the boy and Christina for a while until they came out too. A half hour later, the two teased him until he went back in the pool with George and they repeated the lesson. He found out more and more what swimming was about. It wasn’t so hard at all and he began enjoying the sport. Christina and John cheered from outside when he swam with Mr. Fox from the shallow end of the pool to the deeper end and back. 

 

After the swimming lesson, which lasted all afternoon, Christina volunteered to make dinner. She checked what she needed and wanted to go to the market. Mr. Fox was in such a good mood today. He proposed to let Paul drive his car to the store to get the items Christina needed. 

“We’ll be back soon,” George said and handed Paul the keys to his brand new Chevrolet Impala. 

When they stood in front of his car, Paul was uncertain if letting him drive was such a good idea after all. He had his driver’s license, but Christina had never allowed him to drive her car. She said they had to find a place where she could teach him to drive with a stick, and to this day they hadn’t had the opportunity to do it. Deep inside, so Paul thought, she was afraid that he would ruin the clutch. This was probably the reason she was always the driver when they went to someplace with her car. Perhaps she was right. Paul hadn’t had a lot of experience driving lately. 

“Go ahead, Forrester,” Mr. Fox encouraged him when he saw his hesitation. “She hasn’t allowed you to drive her BMW, has she?”

Paul shook his head no. Mr. Fox laughed. “Don’t worry, my new car is an automatic and fully insured.”

They both climbed in and Paul started the engine. The motor was so quiet. He almost couldn’t hear it. Everything smelled so new and clean. They buckled their seatbelts and Paul carefully backed out of the driveway. He shifted the car into drive and headed towards the town. He was very attentive and careful about how he drove. Driving this car was quite different from the cars he remembered having driven twenty years ago. The steering wheel was so easy to turn. It was almost like child’s play. 

“You’re doing very good, Forrester,” Mr. Fox praised him from the passenger side. “If I wouldn’t know better, I’d say you’ve driven cars all your life.” Paul smiled proudly. He stopped at a stop sign. There was no other traffic, so he proceeded again slowly.

“I like your car, Mr. Fox,” he said. “I barely touched the brakes and they engaged. The cars I have driven in the past weren’t so new.”

“Technology has moved on the last twenty years,” Mr. Fox answered, sounding like a wise and experienced teacher. 

They came to the intersection where the car accident happened half a year ago. “God, I hate this junction,” George said and felt his body stiffen.

“Yeah, me too,” Paul answered and felt the same. He accelerated and they came into more traffic. While Paul did his best to merge the car into the flow, George became nervous. He noticed he wanted to use the brake when he had the impression Forrester came to close to the car in front of them. Unfortunately, he didn’t have brakes on his side of the car. When they arrived at the store he was sweating a little. 

“What’s the matter?” Paul asked when he saw how pale Mr. Fox was. “I thought I did good.” 

George didn’t want to admit he was scared. “Yes, you did good, Forrester, but next time keep more distance to the car in front of you.”

He promised it and they went shopping.

 

On the way back, Paul was more confident in how to drive and he drove a little faster, but still within the speed limit. 

“How’s Sylvie?” he asked his front side passenger. 

“She’s fine, thank you.”

After a while, Paul said, “I really like her. You and her seem made for each other. She changed you for the better.”

“She did?” George asked, surprised.

“When you and her are together you radiate a happiness and contentment I’ve never seen before on you.”

Mr. Fox wasn’t surprised. “Many people have told me the same thing. You know,” he continued, “Love changes everything.” 

“Yes, it does,” Paul said with a little sadness in his voice, as he thought how love changed everything for him three decades ago. 

Mr. Fox picked up on it. “How’s Mrs. Hayden? I haven’t heard from her for a long time,” he asked politely, but also concerned.

“She’s in San Francisco, trying to find a cure for her health problem.”

“How long will she stay?”

“A couple of weeks,” Paul answered. “She’s feeling better already.”

“That’s good to hear,” George said. “I don’t like her, but I don’t wish her any harm.” Paul didn’t react to his answer. He concentrated on his driving. “Christina told me about your wish to marry her.” 

Now Paul’s interest was back and he turned his head to Fox. Unfortunately, his hands followed the motion on the steering wheel as his head and the car veered too much to the right side and almost collided with a parked car. 

_“Hey, watch out buddy!”_ The ghost Paul yelled from the back seat.

“Forrester!” Mr. Fox shouted when he saw what Paul did. In the last second, Paul swung the steering wheel around and panicked, because the car was now on the wrong side of the road and headed into oncoming traffic. The other car honked. Fox shouted again and his heart dropped to his knees. He grabbed the steering wheel and corrected Paul’s mistake. The other car drove by and the driver showed them what he thought of Forrester’s way of driving by flipping him the finger, but he didn’t stop either. Paul stopped Mr. Fox’s new car and they both breathed heavily. Both of them were pale and looked shocked. Paul’s hands and knees were shaking. He felt sick.

“Forrester, what did you do?” Mr. Fox began shouting at him. Paul was still too shaken to answer. George unfastened his seat belt and climbed out of the car to check if there was any damage. He saw where a stone had hit the driver’s door and had produced a tiny scratch. It wasn’t there before, so it must have come from the mishap. He growled and opened the driver’s door.

“Get out!” he angrily ordered and Paul slowly did what he demanded. When George saw how Forrester’s hands were shaking, he regretted his temper outbreak. Paul looked really pale.

“Are you okay?” George asked him with concern. Forrester only nodded and began walking around the car to the passenger side, steadying himself on the body of the car because his knees felt like rubber. They got in again and Fox drove on. It wasn’t far to where they lived.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Fox,” Paul began apologizing. “It happened so fast. The car was suddenly there and I…”

 _“Wasn’t paying attention!”_ Forrester’s ghost replied. Thankfully, Forrester remembered not to answer his spirit guardian aloud.

“Calm down,” George interrupted him. “Nothing happened, there’s only a tiny scratch in the paint. That’s better than you or me getting hurt.” He looked at Paul and saw the alien was still shaken. “Perhaps I expected too much of you. You haven’t driven a car for years. I guess you need a little more practice before I let you drive my car again.” 

After a few moments of silence to regain his composure and ignore his angel, Paul asked, “How am I supposed to get practice when Christina won’t teach me to drive her car at all?”

_“You tell him, bro!”_

“You’re only around on weekends. This was the first time either of you let me try driving since I got my license and I screwed up. I might as well not have it at all. It was a waste of time and money to get it.” 

_“What the hell are you saying man?”_

The Starman turned his head and eyes and cast his ghost an annoyed look.

They arrived home. George got out and went inside the house to tell Christina the news. Meanwhile, Paul climbed out of the car and wanted to see what damage he had done. It wasn’t much, but he felt guilty for producing such a tiny flaw in the paint of Mr. Fox’s new car. Perhaps his powers could correct it. He held his index finger over the imperfection and concentrated on what he wanted to do.

When Christina heard what had happened, she was angry Fox allowed him to drive. 

“You both could be dead!” she shouted and went outside and approached Paul to check his condition. Forrester meanwhile finished what he wanted to do. “Are you okay?” she asked him and looked him over from head to toe. He was still pale, but as far as she could tell, he was all right. 

“I’m sorry,” Paul said to both of them and pulled out his wallet, taking out his license. He presented it to Fox. “Here, take it. I have no need of it.” When George refused, he turned to Christina and offered it to her. 

“Paul, calm down, okay?” she said, thinking he was overreacting.

He was in no mood to listen to her and took her hand when she wouldn’t take the license, placing it in her palm. A little angry with himself for losing control of the vehicle, he went to the trunk to grab a paper bag and headed in the house. Christina and Mr. Fox watched him leave and she wondered why he suddenly felt so hurt.

“Where is the scratch you spoke about?” she asked, and Fox went to show her the spot. He couldn’t find it.

“It vanished,” he said, surprised and looked for it again, but there wasn’t anything to detect any longer. “Forrester must have corrected it,” he said, amazed.

“You mean when he was standing here a minute ago?”

 

“Yes,” he answered. “He can do such things. Never forget what he is, Christina.” George smiled instead of being angry about it. “Thanks Forrester, you just saved me a lot of trouble with my insurance.” 

 

Fox and Christina went into the kitchen after they had a short discussion about Forrester and his driving. Forrester was still busy putting away the groceries.

“Paul, come. Sit down,” Christina gently ordered him as she and George both took seats at the table. He joined them. “Mr. Fox told me what you told him about letting you practice. You’re right. I should be teaching you how to drive a stick and I haven’t. I’m sorry. We can start this Sunday, okay?” she said and put his license on the table, expecting him to take it back.

“Why bother?” Forrester said instead and saw their shocked faces. He went on to tell them, “Neither of you trust me to take your car and drive by myself to run an errand or go visit Jenny or my son at the ranch. I’m not allowed to be alone anyway. One of you must always be with me here at home, or when we travel. You both have your own cars and prefer to drive them yourself. I can understand that. I’d feel the same too. So, why bother letting me drive or even make me get the license? It was a waste of time and money. I don’t want or need a car or license when I’m just along for the ride,” he finished. “Now, if you will please excuse me, I think I’ll go up to my room and lie down,” he said and left.

George and Christina sat there looking at each other for a moment. 

“I guess your apology didn’t work,” Fox said.

“No, I guess it didn’t” she said quietly and toyed with Forrester’s license, which he’d left.

“He’s right, you know? He has no need to drive as long as we play taxi driver for him.”

“Yes, I know, but General Ryder wanted him to have it. He passed the test and earned it. He should learn how to drive my car and practice more with yours and mine in case something happens when we’re out with him and we can’t drive.”

“Just don’t snap at him, hurt his feelings and shatter his confidence when he makes a mistake, like I did,” he reminded her. 

“I’ll try to remember that,” Christina said with a wan smile. “I’ll give this back to him a little later after he’s had some time to calm down.”

“Yeah, okay. He’s still pretty shaken up.”

“Do you think he’s afraid to drive now?”

“I don’t know.”

 

Paul took off his shoes and plopped down on his bed. He saw his guardian angel looking at him from the chair. “Just go away and leave me alone,” he told him.

_“That’s a fine thank you I get for saving your life, again!”_

“I don’t feel like talking to you right now.”

_“Fine, I’ll do the talking. Stop acting like an ass. You made one little mistake and you want to quit. You’re sorry and so are they. They’re both a little ashamed you know for neglecting to keep their promises. G-man down there is sorry he yelled at you. She’s going to return your license to you. Take it back. You need it.”_

“What for? You must have heard what I told them.”

_“Sure I did. But you still need that license. If you never drive again, it’s still a handy thing to have. You can always use it as a means of identification. I used to use it to get into bars and clubs. I couldn’t wait to get my license or my first car. What fun I had with the chicks, man! Go drinking on a Friday night. Pick up a good-looking girl. Take her to bed… God, I wish I were still alive!”_

“But you’re not. I am,” Paul said, “and I don’t need a license. I am not going to go to any bars or clubs. They wouldn’t allow me to go to one even if I wanted to. Drinking alcoholic beverages on Friday night, or any day or night, makes me feel sick later, and the only girl I want to take to bed is Jenny.”

Forrester smiled and said, _“Take it back anyway. The big guy wants you to take it back. He says you earned it and you should be happy with your accomplishment. He says they will trust you and let you drive again.”_

“Does he know if they will let me marry Jenny and let her move in and live with me?”

The photographer gave him a shrug and said, _“He won’t say yes or no, only don’t give up yet.”_

Paul understood that to mean there was still a chance he’d get his fondest wish. “Okay.”

Forrester gave him a nod and disappeared.

###    
**Chapter 15**  


The general informed Christina he would arrive Saturday evening. He had told Mr. Fox he was coming for a visit, but hadn’t told him yet about Paul’s request. When he came, the general was surprised how much Forrester had changed since he changed his place of living. There was happiness in his eyes again and he had gained some weight too. Forrester saw himself as part of this family and liked living here. General Ryder was fascinated how Paul obeyed this woman. When she wanted him to set the dinner table, he acted like a servant. When he brought the wrong glasses, Christina scolded him and ordered him to bring the crystal glasses instead. The general smiled secretly. The scene reminded him of similar scenes at home. His wife was the boss in his house as well. Perhaps this was the reason he still was married after all these years. Perhaps this was why this strange household worked here too. He was very satisfied how much the extraterrestrial had assimilated during the short time he was living here. Giving him controlled freedom did wonders for him. There wasn’t so much difference the way he lived now as compared to other married men. Forrester wasn’t allowed to go to work, and he had to be careful with what he did, but Christina did a great job watching him and teaching him the things he still had to learn from everyday life. Otherwise, he saw the man was living as any other human husband. The woman was the boss and he had to obey.

“Where’s your son?” he asked the Starman, when they had finished the meal.

“Uhh,” Paul replied, hesitating. Why was he asking this question? Was he going to allow him to treat Scott with the sphere? “I don’t know exactly. I haven’t seen him for the last three days. He’s probably at the ranch.”

“I see,” the general said. “I was surprised to hear he came back from wherever he hid himself.”

“Yes, he came back because his mother is so sick. Otherwise, I’m not sure if he trusted the military enough to return. You don’t want to cage him as you did me, do you?” Paul wanted to know.

“Oh, no,” the general answered, surprised. “We still have an agreement about him. Don’t we?”

“I hope so,” Forrester said, “but what will happen to that agreement once I die? Will you take him in my place?”

“Why are you asking this, Forrester? I thought you like it here. Why are you worried what will be in ten, twenty or thirty years? If you don’t want to die again, why ask me the question?”

“No, I don’t want to die, sir, “ Paul answered. “I’m only worried about what will be. That’s all.”

“My advice is don’t worry so much.”

 

Paul filled the dishwasher and while Christina brought John to bed, Paul invited General Ryder to see his rooms. The man eagerly agreed. He was pleased to see Forrester kept his sleeping quarters as neat as Christina kept the rest of the house. He noticed the framed pictures of his son and Mrs. Hayden on the wall, along with a wedding photo with Richard Hayward, Mrs. Hayden and Scott Hayden. It was a little bit unusual. They moved to his spare room. General Ryder noticed something was missing. 

“Where’s the computer I sent you?”

Paul lowered his eyes when he spoke. “She confiscated it when I told her I sent you the e-mail asking for permission to use the sphere without her seeing it first,” he confessed. “I’m sorry I had to go behind her back, but it was necessary to ask you for an answer, not her. The machine doesn’t matter to me, but Scott’s well being does. I understand she’s in charge of what I can and cannot do on daily matters, and I respect her decisions, but I believe this was beyond her authority and you should decide. You are ultimately charge of this project. I would do it again.”

Ethan looked Forrester in his eyes. “I think I understand. Being a father myself, I only want the best for my kids.”

“Yes. So do I,” Paul said and smiled. They headed for the stairs, but he said he needed to use the bathroom and asked the general to please excuse him.

“I’ll see you downstairs in a minute,” Ryder said and he went downstairs.

 

Fox arrived while Paul and the general were upstairs in Forrester’s rooms. He sat waiting in the living room.

“Has Christina told you about Forrester’s request to use the sphere to heal his son’s shoulder?”

George put on a cautious face. “Yes, she did,” he replied. “Is this the reason why you came for a visit?” 

“Partly,” the general said. “I was in the area and wanted to see how our alien is doing. What do you think of this idea, George?”

“Me? …. I don’t know. I don’t get a good feeling when Forrester gets in touch with the sphere, but I can understand why he asked you for permission to use it to make his son well. Scott’s suffered a lot from the gunshot. The shoulder constantly hurts him when he wants to use the arm. Christina said he probably needs another surgery, but I don’t think Scott or Mrs. Hayden has the money for it.”

“If I allow him to do this for his son, do you think he’ll want to escape when he’s finished?”

Fox shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s hard to say. I don’t think so. He seems to like it here. Where would he go? All I know is that he has always fooled me with that thing. He’s unpredictable when it comes to him using it. Remember what he did only six months ago. He tricked me, Ben, even Christina, the person who is closest to him like no one else. He wanted to escape, and would have if that accident didn’t happen to Mrs. Hayden’s dog.” 

Meanwhile, Paul was finished using the bathroom and came downstairs into the room.

“So, you want me to let you use one of the spheres to heal your son?” Ryder asked Paul with a hint of provocation in his voice. 

Paul was confused. Just a minute ago he could have sworn General Ryder understood his concerns. Now, he seemed to be taunting him, looking for an excuse to deny his request. 

“Yes,” he answered carefully, “I thought I could try to make him feel better. I had to stop working on him when he was shot because I didn’t have the energy to finish the healing. I was exhausted trying to extinguish the flames consuming Richard’s ranch. The injury didn’t heal as it should have, and Scott didn’t start therapy to help it heal. There’s major damage in his shoulder.”

“How long will it take until you’re finished?”

“A couple of hours I guess.”

“And could you do it in one go?”

“Probably.”

The general leaned back and thought if he should allow Paul his request. On the one hand, he didn’t want Scott Hayden to suffer when it could be changed without any further surgery. On the other hand, he didn’t know what to expect from Forrester. He knew about the power of the sphere only from George’s reports. Christina came back and saw the general deep in thought.

“I know what your opinion is about Forrester’s request, Mrs. Wylie, but I can understand how much it means to him,” Ryder told her.

“We’ll follow whatever you decide, sir,” she replied. When it came to her trust in Paul with the sphere, it was a dead end, but she also saw the blue light had saved Scott’s life when he almost bled to death. 

“Okay Forrester. I’m going to allow you to use it,” he finally said. “You’d better get your son here. I must catch the last plane to Washington.”

 

Paul tried to reach Scott on the telephone. Nobody answered. He dialed Richard’s number, but nobody answered there either. 

“I better get him. Do you think they are at the ranch?” Mr. Fox asked, eager to help.

“I guess so. Where else could they be?” 

His presumption was they drove to San Francisco to visit Jenny, but Scott didn’t say anything about it when they spoke with each other last time. Fox went to get Scott.

 

After George Fox left, General Ryder looked at Paul. “Would you excuse us for a moment please, Mr. Forrester? I’d like to speak to Mrs. Wiley in private.” 

“Yes, of course,” Paul answered. “I’ll go outside and watch John’s guinea pigs.”

Christina waited until the sliding glass door closed before she looked at the general. 

“What is it you want to talk to me about, sir?”

“Forrester told me you took away his computer. I want you to return it to him.” She was about to defend her actions when Ryder held up a hand, telling her to let him finish. “Yes, I know he broke the rules about screening his e-mails, and so does he, but he’s also correct in one regard: this matter is something for me to decide, not you. If something as important as this comes up again in the future, I want him to feel comfortable asking me for a decision. I do not want him to be afraid to ask me for something. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” she answered respectfully. 

“You may be opposed to his request, but do not deny him permission to ask. I’ll have the final word.”

She acknowledged him again and understood his message loud and clear. He had just instructed her to loosen her hold on Forrester’s leash. It also meant the next time Paul asked her about Jenny to live in this house, she could not refuse to let him ask the general. She felt a knot develop in the pit of her stomach. _God, what if he agrees?_ She tried not to let herself get that far ahead. 

“I’ll return everything immediately, sir.”

“Everything? What else have you taken from him?” the general asked with an abrupt uneasy feeling.

Christina regretted her slipup. “Just the cell phone that Mr. Fox gave him,” she replied.

“Return it,” he ordered in a disappointed tone. He suddenly began to wonder about the accuracy of her reports regarding Forrester. How much was truth, and how much of what she’d written had she biased against the alien? He didn’t know. What he did know was he was going from now on to take her reports with a bit more skepticism and a little less as being God’s gospel truth. He decided to address her methods of controlling Forrester. “He’s not a child, Mrs. Wylie. Don’t treat him like one. A simple warning would have been sufficient. If he disobeyed again, then I might consider restricting his privileges. Are we clear on that?”

“Yes, sir.”

Ethan had some final comments. “Mrs. Ryder may control my house, Mrs. Wiley, but with control comes trust and respect. It goes both ways. The same applies here. You may control him, but don’t disrespect him. Trust will come with time. Understood?”

She nodded.

“Now, I expect you to tell him and Mr. Fox of this discussion after I leave.”

“I will General. May I ask how much I may tell him, sir?” she wanted to know.

“You can tell him he’s free to ask me anything he wants to and you will not prohibit him from doing so again,” was Ryder’s clear reply. The discussion was over. “You can go tell Mr. Forrester he can come in now.”

Christina went to get the Starman.

 

When George came to the ranch, he found everybody in the stalls chatting with each other. Scott told Ben and Richard of his adventures while he was in Europe. 

As soon as he saw Fox, Scott stopped his conversation and had the sudden impulse to run. His intelligence told him a second later there was no necessity to run any more from this man. He was nervous anyway.

“What do you want? Has something happened to my dad?” 

“The general is here, Scott. He has allowed your father to treat your shoulder with the sphere,” George told him. “I’m here to get you. Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Fox,” Wylie said he as stood next to Scott. “The general allowed Forrester to use the sphere? I don’t believe it.”

“You better. Do you want to come see for yourself?”

“Yes,” Ben and Richard answered at the same time. The rancher thought the invitation was for him as well. Fox wondered what the others would say when he came home with three people instead of only Scott, but it didn’t matter at the moment. Richard knew of Forrester’s origin and witnessed some of his tricks, so there was no need to exclude him.

 

They entered the house and saw Paul and the general carrying the chaise lounge that was in the garden into the living room. The general eyed the three men as soon as they came in the room. He knew Ben of course, Mr. Hayward, and the young man, who was Paul’s son, he knew only from pictures. He came closer and greeted Ben and Richard personally with a handshake. When he wanted to shake hands with Scott, the young man tried his best to give him his right hand, but he had to stop because it hurt him too much. 

“Hello Mr. Hayden, nice to meet you,” the general said instead. 

“Nice to meet you too,” Scott replied, but he was busy holding his arm until the pain went away. 

The young man eyed the officer in front of him for a while. He suddenly felt a knot in his stomach. This was the man who decided first hand over his father’s future. The man didn’t look like some paranoid hard case, but rather nice and sympathetic, although he still wore the air of being military. Scott saw the general’s jacket with the many pins hung over one chair where they ate.

“I hope your father can fix your arm. It would really be a shame if this injury ruined your entire future. You can’t work with this arm, can you, son?”

Scott shook his head and left the man to sit down on the chaise lounge where his father sat. They said hello to each other and Paul asked him why he didn’t call or visit him since they brought him back to the ranch. Scott sighed silently. He was glad that he was healthy enough to escape this house. Why did his dad always want him to come and see him? He loved his father, but from his point of view it wasn’t necessary to see each other every day. 

“I was busy,” he said. 

“Busy? What did you do?”

They noticed the others listening to their conversation. Paul and Scott stopped their chitchat. Christina came up from the basement. When she had opened the vault, she wondered if the spheres were exactly the same and if he needed one in particular. Christina decided to bring him both. She greeted everyone, but wasn’t happy that Fox brought her husband along. She said nothing and waited to see what would happen next.

“Have they found the burglar yet?” Ryder asked Mr. Fox and eyed Christina as well. Both shook their head no and told him the police was still working on finding the intruder. She assured him the windows of the basement were now protected by iron bars. 

Paul was busy telling Scott what he would try to do. He asked him if he had eaten and if he was thirsty. Scott was nervous. Every eye rested on him. Sparky felt his nervousness and jumped on the chaise lounge. He wanted to be with him. 

“Yeah, we ate,” he answered, “but I have a dry throat and I’m a little scared.”

“Christina, please close the curtains now,” Paul begged her and asked someone to bring Scott a glass of water. He addressed his son. “Why are you afraid? I’m your father. You know I would never hurt you, don’t you? I love you.”

George brought the glass and gave it to Scott. He drank a sip and handed the glass back to Fox. 

“Yeah, I know that Dad.”

“Do you trust me?” 

“More than they ever will,” Scott said looking around at the others, particularly Ben’s wife.

“Okay then,” his father began, “take off your shirt.” The young man obeyed, but his nervousness became apparent when he saw everybody waited for something to happen. While Paul helped his son, Christina asked everyone to take a seat on the couch. They all could see what went on well from there. General Ryder and Mr. Fox stayed next to the bed. “Lay down,” Paul instructed his son and Scott followed the order. The bed wasn’t very comfortable. Scott had sweaty hands. Why was he so nervous? Richard saw the dog disturbed them and stood up to get him.

“What will you do?” Scott finally dared to ask. “Will it hurt?”

“I’m going to put you to sleep with the sphere. It won’t hurt you, I promise,” his father assured him. If I don’t put you to sleep first, it might hurt a little and I need you relaxed.”

“Do you want me to assist?” Christina asked and knelt down on the other side of the chaise lounge. 

“No, there’s no need, but make sure nobody disturbs me. I need a lot of time to fix the damage, perhaps an hour, probably more. It depends on how extensive the damage is.”

She nodded, but stayed where she was. Paul looked at her. He waited for her to give him the sphere. Christina looked again at the general and waited for him to acknowledge once more that he wanted her to give him the instrument of his power. He nodded.

“Which one do you want?” she asked Paul and produced both spheres from her pocket. 

“It doesn’t matter. They are both the same.”

She handed him one. 

Paul took a deep breath and exhaled it. It was very important now to keep up his concentration. He put his left hand on Scott’s forehead and felt his son’s fear and nervousness. He, Forrester, wasn’t relaxed either, but treating Scott this way was so much easier than more surgery, which might not end Scott’s pain with one hundred percent certainty. Scott saw the blue light appearing from the sphere in his father’s hand and closed his eyes. He felt a wave of nausea penetrating his consciousness. A second later he was asleep and didn’t feel a thing. Paul kept up his concentration. The blue light covered the point where the bullet had hit the shoulder and showed his mind what he had to do. The muscle tissue had healed well, but the nerves hadn’t grown together as they should have. This was probably the reason why the arm still hurt Scott so much. The others watched what happened with interest. Paul seemed to be in a trance. 

“Good heavens,” the general exclaimed after a couple of seconds. 

The magic really fascinated him. Ben reminded the man to be quiet. Christina watched with a combination of awe and fear. She took Scott’s left hand and put it to her cheek. She prayed that Paul was able to undo the damage she had caused half a year ago. Sparky barked and Richard held the dog’s mouth closed with his hand. They saw how the noise had disturbed the Starman and changed the intensity of the light for a second. Richard took the dog out of the room and put him outside in the backyard. The minutes turned into half an hour, then an hour. When one hour passed, they saw the blue light fading. Paul opened his eyes.

“Well? Is it finished?” Christina asked. Forrester looked tired. 

“No. I just needed a little break. It’s almost done.”

“Are you thirsty?” she wanted to know and Paul nodded. She brought him something to drink and got her stethoscope to see how his patient was doing. Paul smiled secretly when he saw her checking Scott’s condition. He drank the lemonade she had brought him. 

“There is nothing wrong with his circulation. You don’t trust me, do you?”

She was satisfied with Scott’s heartbeat and put the instrument away. Ryder noticed she didn’t answer Forrester’s question though and went to sit next to her husband.

“I pray to God he can fix it,” she said and Ben put a supporting arm around her. It felt strange for her, but she allowed him to offer her the expression of comfort. Paul went back to work. The sphere lit up again. The general seemed more relaxed this time, after he had seen the sphere’s power remained the same. Forrester didn’t move. He was concentrating intensely. 

The general turned to Ben. “I heard you work at Mr. Hayward’s farm,” he whispered.” Once your wife has her baby I need somebody supporting her with Forrester.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, sir,” Ben answered as softly as Ryder had. “I think Mr. Fox is a much better choice for the job.”

“Forget it, Wylie,” Mr. Fox interfered. “Weekends are all I can offer. I have retired in case you have forgotten. And I have a private life besides watching Forrester.”

Ryder didn’t like hearing that. If nobody wanted to help out, he would have to bring in somebody else, but Ben Wylie would be ideal for the job. If only he and Christina would reconcile with each other again. He pitied that the events of the last few months had separated the couple.

Fifteen minutes later, Paul powered down the sphere. The light faded and he unconsciously put the marble in the pocket of his jeans. He gently began shaking his son awake. Scott opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was his father. Paul looked fatigued. How much time had passed? Was the operation successful? Every eye rested on Scott and everybody looked down on him. Christina noticed the scar had nearly totally disappeared. Only the thinnest of white lines indicated there had been an injury there. She didn’t know if the others noticed this detail as well.

“Is it done?” Scott asked and Paul helped him into a sitting position. Scott felt refreshed. It was like taking a nap. His shoulder felt different. He tried to move it. There was no longer pain, but it didn’t feel the same as it was before Christina shot him.

“Give me your hand and try to press my hand as hard as you can,” Paul ordered and Scott moved his arm. He expected pain when he carried out the motion, but was surprised when there wasn’t any. He pressed his father’s hand as his father instructed him to. Paul smiled when he felt the pressure, but for a man of Scott’s physique, it was relatively weak. 

“It didn’t work, Dad, “ Scott said, disappointed. “The arm feels funny.”

“It did work, Scott, but you need to use your arm to get back the strength. Your brain has learned to shift operations from your right hand to the left. It needs time to relearn to shift it back.” 

Scott withdrew his hand and carefully began moving his arm and his shoulder. Even if it wouldn’t get better than this, he was more than satisfied. His feelings overwhelmed him and he rushed to embrace his father. 

“Thank you so much for this, Dad,” he said and felt tears run down his cheeks. “You cured my pain. It was horrible when every movement hurt. Now I can start living again.” 

“I know what you mean. I felt your pain. That’s why I had to do it,” Paul said. “I don’t want you to suffer. You mean so much to me.”

When they separated again, Paul felt somebody tapping on his shoulder. He craned his head. Christina was behind him. He knew immediately what she wanted from him. Sadly, he reached into his pocket and with a sigh gave her the sphere.

“Can your son work the sphere too?” the general asked, while Christina put the orb away.

“He can, but working it requires practice.”

“I heard you both used the spheres to produce a blue water ring, and put a layer of ice over Mr. Hayward’s stalls and house, saving his ranch. He wrote me and I remember reading a report in the newspaper about it as well.”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Paul said and both stood up. Richard meanwhile, went outside to get the dog and came back inside with the terrier. When Scott saw him he rushed to hug him, showing him the operation was successful.

“May I see the sphere, Mrs. Wiley?” the general asked and waited until she handed him the one Paul had used. He examined it and wondered how such a tiny thing could produce such wonders. “Forrester, “ he said and looked the extraterrestrial in his striking blue eyes, “The past months have shown us these are not safe any more in a vault. What if I allow you to keep it?” 

Paul was shocked for a moment. He hadn’t expected such confidence from the general. 

“Excuse me, sir,” Christina interrupted with alarm. “You don’t mean what you just said, do you? You want to hand him the sphere, which he wanted to use to escape us?”

“There is no need for him to escape. We gave him all he wanted. His son lives three miles away and his girlfriend too. I gave him limited freedom and you must admit, it was a wise decision so far.”

Paul was going to speak up and say the general had not given him everything he wanted. Now wasn’t the time to push his luck. He’d gained so much these last few months and he didn’t want that to vanish in a heartbeat. There would be time later to ask the general for permission to marry Jenny Hayden and allow her to move in with him.

Christina couldn’t disagree with the general’s logic in front of the others, especially Forrester, but she still didn’t like it. When she looked to Mr. Fox she knew he felt the same.

“I can keep it?” Paul asked again and waited for a confirmation.

“Confidence against confidence, Mr. Forrester,” Ryder told him. “Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?” 

Paul nodded again. He knew what Ethan wanted to say. No more tricks with the sphere to fool the people who guarded him. No using the sphere in front of people other than those gathered here, and Jenny of course. He woke up from his momentarily trance when he saw the general’s hand with the sphere appearing in front of his face. Gratefully, he took it. 

“Give me the other one,” Ryder ordered Christina. 

Everyone saw how much she was against his decision, but she handed him the remaining orb.

“Come here, son,” the general said to Scott and he came closer. Did he really want to give him the second sphere?

“The same rules apply to you too. Don’t do anything weird with it or I will personally come and take it away from you. Don’t ever leave the country with the sphere. And don’t ever use it in front of any other people than those here or your mother. Nobody must know you two are a little different to humans. Do I have the same confidence in you as I expect from your father?”

“I’ll try my best, sir,” Scott answered him, but the general wasn’t satisfied with his answer.

“Don’t try it, Mr. Hayden. Do it. You aren’t a child any more. I must know I can depend on you in this matter. Can I?”

Scott swallowed. “You can count on me, general, sir.” Was he convincing enough? He swallowed again and kept eye contact with the man. The general handed him the second marble. 

“All right, but I warn you,” he said as a final reminder and looked to Paul as well, “If the future shows you can’t stick to the rules and you use your powers against this country, I swear it will have consequences.” Scott looked at his dad and saw him shrugging. 

“It’s late. I must leave to catch my plane,” the general said and bid good-bye to everybody. 

 

When he was gone, Fox came to Paul and asked him, “Did you influence him to hand you the sphere like you did Christina to let you stay at the ranch? I can’t believe that he simply gave you that thing to keep, just like that. We stored it away for twenty years, and only after you showed him that your son is healed, he gives it back to you.”

“I did not influence him,” Paul answered, a little irritated that George Fox had so little belief in him. “He gave it to me because he wants to see if I’m trustworthy. Do you remember what he said: confidence against confidence.”

“Very funny, Forrester,” Fox replied. “If he wants to be a fool and give you the sphere, I don’t have the power to take it away from you. We’ll see what his decision leads to. Perhaps then he’ll be smarter.”

Paul was disappointed with both Fox and Mrs. Wiley and finally decided to tell them so. “You’ve known me for going on twenty years or longer. In all that time I would have thought that by now you know I would never hurt you or anyone. It hurts me that you think I would.”

“I don’t know what to think, Forrester,” George retorted. “What I do know is you’re good at fooling people and playing tricks on them with that thing.”

“Twenty years ago I had a reason to fool and trick you. Scott and I were fighting for our freedom and our very lives. Six months ago that was true as well. That’s no longer the case. Scott is free and so am I to a certain extent. We’re both alive, so I assume you don’t want to kill me. Or do you?”

“We wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of reviving you when you died if we wanted to kill you,” Christina said in a snippy tone.

“Then why can’t you have a little faith and trust me?” Paul pleaded.

George and Christina were shamed into silence.

 

The others said good night and headed to drive home. Ben was feeling relieved as he wasn’t a long time ago. The general trusted Paul enough to give him back his sphere. The last six months brought so many changes in Paul’s life, and even in his own, that the last eighteen years didn’t. His idea to steal the spheres back then wasn’t such a bad idea after all. If he hadn’t stolen it, none of this would have happened afterwards. Unconsciously, he had started a major change by carrying out his idea. 

“What is it, Ben?” his wife asked when she saw him daydreaming. “Are you happy about what happened?”

“Yes, I am,” he admitted. “Everything has changed, except us.”

“You still haven’t signed the divorce papers, Ben. Why do you wait?” she asked. “I don’t think we’ll have a chance to save our marriage any more. Not after what you said about your baby that I carry.”

“I’m sorry, Christina,” he said. “I have to go.” 

Ben left her standing at the porch and headed for Richard’s car.

###    
**Chapter 16**  


The next afternoon, Scott came to see his father in the morning. As soon as he rang the brass bell, he heard the dog bark and run to the door. 

“Oh, Scott …. Hi,” Christina welcomed him and Sparky jumped on his knees. “Is that your car?” She peeked outside. It was the first time she’d seen the red jalopy in the driveway.

“Yes. It was parked in my mother’s carport. It’s old, but works okay.” Christina remembered she had seen it. Obviously he had washed it. When she saw it back then, it was so covered with dirt she couldn’t see its real color. She thought it was a wreck. “Ben helped me today to get it running again. The battery was dead.”

“You spend a lot of time with my husband lately,” she said. “Come in. Your dad’s upstairs. How’s your arm?”

“It gets better,” Scott replied. “It’s strange how I must learn to use it again.” 

“I’m so glad your father could fix it, really. I didn’t want to see you suffering any longer from what I did.”

“Yeah,” is all Scott could say. He liked this woman better than in the beginning, but he still couldn’t forgive her for what she did. 

“When you’re healthy enough to return to work, what will you do?” Christina asked, curious. “Do you want to return to your old job, or will you do something else?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll probably have to leave and move to someplace else. Mr. Hayward, I mean Richard, doesn’t need two farm hands.”

“I see,” the woman answered, thinking about how he would decide. 

 

Scott opened the door to his father’s spare room. Paul had binoculars up to his eyes and watched something hidden behind a curtain. 

“Hi, what’s up?” Scott greeted him. Paul was so fascinated with what he was watching, he didn’t hear anyone coming. He returned his son’s welcome, but acted like he’d been caught doing something forbidden.

“What are you looking at?” his son asked and came to see what was so interesting. “Watching birds?”

“Kind of birds,” Paul replied, a little shame in his voice. 

“Let me see what’s so interesting down there,” Scott said and took the binoculars out of his father’s hands. He looked too, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. “Where are the birds? I can’t see anything.” 

Paul directed the binoculars in the right direction. As soon Scott saw what his father had locked his eyes on, he whistled and understood why his dad was so fascinated. A pretty young lady in the neighbor’s garden laid on the chaise lounge beside the pool, topless. 

“That’s nasty,” he said to his father and put the binoculars down. “She probably thinks nobody can see her in the privacy of her garden.” Despite trying to be a gentleman, he put the binoculars to his eyes again and watched the girl. Paul chuckled, because Scott was doing what he said he shouldn’t do. 

“Guess what happened today?” Paul said, changing the topic. He forced the dog to get off the sofa. 

“I don’t know. Tell me,” Scott asked and put the binoculars down. 

“Some days ago I sent the pictures I made from my art design, you know the one with John’s spheres, to some companies in Los Angeles which manufacture ball bearings. One of them answered to my e mail today, saying they are interested. They thought of making a calendar for next year, which fits well to their products. They wrote they really like them.” 

“How much are they offering you?” Scott wanted to know.

“They haven’t given me an order yet,” Paul told him.

 

Sparky jumped on Scott’s lap. He wanted to be petted, but he was also restless and wanted someone to take him outside. They heard Christina calling for the dog. Like lightning, Sparky ran out of the room. 

“I’m going out with the dog for ten minutes,” she cried upstairs. “I’ll be in the front garden.”

“Okay,” Paul replied loud enough for her to hear. 

“You haven’t said anything yet about how your arm is,” he commented, when he saw Scott go back to the window with the binoculars.

“It’s getting better. It’s kind of like when you have to wear your arm in a cast for a long time. You get kind of stiff. Have you ever worn a cast?”

Paul shook his head no. Scott decided to forget the girl at the pool and keep up the conversation. 

“Christina and I talked about you and Ben this morning,” Paul said. “Richard can’t keep two farm aids, can he? Or do you want to do something else?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet, but at the moment it looks like I’ll have to move to someplace else. I don’t think he’ll fire Wylie to give me back my job. He said Ben’s a little slow in his work, but he’s very patient with the mares. They like him.”

“Have you two talked about him and Christina?”

“He said once he still loves her, but he can’t return because he still isn’t sure if the baby is his.”

Paul didn’t like to hear that. “I owe Ben a lot, but in this case he’s being so stubborn.”

Scott felt his father was a little annoyed with the man. “Dad, since Christina is outside, can we two practice with the sphere?” 

The question brought a smile to Paul’s face. “What do you want to practice?”

“I don’t know. I thought you can teach me a little.”

Paul looked around to find something which he could learn. His glance caught the remote control to his television on the coffee table. “Can you levitate this?”

Scott was a little disappointed that he had such a lame idea. He wanted to do something cool, like a ring of blue lights and stuff like that. He got his sphere out of his pocket anyway. He eyed the remote control, then the sphere. 

“The trick is you must be totally calm,” Paul instructed him when he saw how strained Scott looked with his concentration. “You must feel the force.” 

Scott suddenly chuckled and stopped. “You remind me of Yoda from Star Wars teaching Luke Skywalker.” 

Paul had seen the movie with Christina and John and remembered the scene. He chuckled too. 

“Yes, it’s kind of like that, Scott,” he said. “Try it again. Remember you don’t have to force it. Stay calm, concentrate on what you want to do and focus.” It worked. The sphere lit up. “Good. Now direct your thoughts to the remote control. Don’t think of something else or it won’t work. You’re the guide of the power.” Scott tried his best to think only of the remote control and what he wanted to do with it. When it began to float he smiled. “Lower it,” his father ordered. 

Scott made a mistake. The remote control fell back to the table and he glanced at his father. 

“I said lower it, don’t drop it.” 

“Sorry,” Scott said when the sphere’s light faded. “I’ll never reach your level of proficiency with the sphere.”

“That’s not true, but practice is necessary. You need to take one step at a time. What you just did is only child’s play. What I did yesterday to your shoulder was quite advanced, but it was a big deal even for me.”

“The problem is,” Scott replied, “How can I practice when they don’t let me work with it in front of others? We’d get attention anywhere we use it, even though we think nobody can see us. Take your sexy neighbor as an example.” He stood up again and went to the window. He couldn’t resist taking another look at her.

“Yes, I know. We just have to make very sure no one else besides those General Ryder mentioned does see us use it. In fact, we should let them watch us practice with it so they will learn not to fear it or us.” 

 

Richard talked with Jenny on the phone, asking her how she was doing. In a week the treatment would be over. She wasn’t yet healed, but she was steadily improving. 

“And have you decided what you will do when you’re back?” he wanted to know. 

Jenny knew of course what he wanted to hear with this question. She agreed he had a right to know. His feelings towards her grew stronger since he cared for her in the months she was sick, but she didn’t love him any more. She loved somebody else. Richard would be saddened when she told him there could only be one person she wanted to be with, and it wasn’t him. She would be hurt too when she saw his pain. She owed him so much. He gave her all the money for the treatment without asking for it, and he cared for her when she needed him, as if they were still married. He was such a good friend, but only a good friend, even though they had shared a bed together in the last months. Nothing sexual happened between them while she lived in his house, but the fact remained: they shared a bed. How could she live with Richard when she knew her love, Paul Forrester, lived in the same town? Even though they would probably never allow her to live with him, her love for Paul surpassed any other. The answer wasn’t easy for her, but Richard wouldn’t wait forever. If she told him she loved Paul, she would have to give him back the money for the treatment. She owed him that, but had no clue where she could borrow so much money. 

“Richard, please,” she answered. “Let’s talk about this another time, okay?”

He was silent and let it go. “Oh yes, have Paul or Scott told you that Mrs. Travis has your book ready? You just need to sign the contract. It would make good income for you if the book sells as well as the original version.”

Jenny’s mood changed. Why did he have to start with this theme again? Why was it so difficult to understand that she didn’t want to publish a book that was based on lies?

“They talked with me about it,” she said, “but I told them what I’m going tell you. I don’t want to sign the contract. I didn’t ask her to change the story and I don’t care a bit about the money I’ll lose. Not a bit!”

 

The next morning, Scott helped Ben bringing the mares to the paddock. 

“Mr. Hayward told me yesterday you plan the leave when your mother returns,” Ben said to him. 

Scott nodded. “Yes, I need to earn money. I’m totally broke, but Richard won’t pay for two farm hands.”

Ben closed the wooden gate to the paddocks. He didn’t want Scott to leave. If he went someplace else, it wouldn’t be so easy for him to see his parents. He had the impression Scott wanted to return to his old job. “You want to come back here, don’t you?”

Against Ben’s presumption, Scott shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought about it, but somehow I think it’s time to do something else. I’m 33 years old, but I still do the same work I did when I started here ten years ago. I dream of running my own ranch, having my own business. Working with animals is what I love, but being just the farm hand doesn’t pay well.”

“I see,” Ben said. “I’ll tell you this, Scott: I’ve worked for the government for over twenty years, doing basically the same job, and I know now what I’ve missed.”

They went back towards the stall. “I think Jenny would be very sad if you move someplace else. She still needs you. Your dad would be sad too. He needs you too as much as your mother does.”

Scott could only smile. He understood what Wylie wanted to say, but wasn’t it normal for children to leave the nest? If he was living someplace else it didn’t have to mean they wouldn’t see each other any more. 

“Yeah,” he answered.

 

It was 2AM when something small hit Paul’s bedroom window. He was sound asleep and didn’t hear it. It happened again. A tiny stone struck his window. This time he opened his eyes. What woke him up? He listened, but there were no more noises. He closed his eyes and a moment later he heard another tap on the glass. Somebody or something was on his balcony. How could this be? He remembered there was a trellis for climbing flowers directly below the landing. It was all grown over with vines. His heart beat faster. When he stood up and went to the window, he saw a person climbing over the railing. He couldn’t see who it was in the dark, but when the person came to the sliding door, he saw a woman’s silhouette. His mouth dropped open. He knew it was Jenny. She saw that he had finally woken up. She began working the handle, until he opened the door from inside. She fell into his arms and they hugged and kissed. When they separated for a moment, he still couldn’t believe what she had done. 

“Shouldn’t you be in San Francisco?” he asked surprised, whispering. He was fearful Christina had heard the noise as well and woke up. He listened for her footsteps coming up the stairs. What would she say if she saw Jenny in his bedroom right now?

“I had to see you, Paul,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I borrowed a car from the woman who shared a room with me.”

“It’s the middle of the night. How did you get over the fence?”

“Don’t worry,” she said, calming him down. “I’ve jumped over fences all my life.” 

Paul was still excited, and drew her again to him and kissed her.

“I missed you so much, Jen,” he finally told her, still whispering. 

“Me too,” she said when the kiss had ended.

“But you still haven’t answered the question why you broke in the house in the middle of the night. What happened?”

As if it would be the most normal thing to enter other people’s houses at night via the balcony, she pulled off her jacket and her boots in the dark and laid down in his cozy warm bed. She looked at him, supporting her head with her arm. Paul sat down on the bed and waited for an answer. 

“Richard will bring me back in two days.”

“That’s great,” he said, happy to hear the news. “You look so much better since I saw you last. Has the therapy worked?”

“It got better, but I’m not cured yet. Dr. Woo basically said what you told me. I have to learn to fight my demons.”

He laid down next to her and wanted to kiss her again. 

“I came to talk about our future, Paul.” 

He was surprised and stopped what he was doing. 

“When I’m back I have to decide between you and Richard. He deserves a decision.” 

“Does he offer you marriage?”

She got annoyed over his question. “My God Paul, don’t you understand? It’s you who I love, not him. He has done so much for me though. He cared for me all the time while I was so ill. When he asks me to choose, I’m going to break his heart. I don’t want to see him hurt, but there’s no other way.” 

Paul was overwhelmed and didn’t know what advice he should give her. He didn’t want her to marry Richard, but neither could he promise her that her wish of marrying him would ever come true. Why was everything so complicated? 

“Do you think Christina will allow me to move in with you?” she asked moments later. Paul wanted to tell her this wouldn’t be a problem, but he knew it wasn’t the truth. Jenny and Christina would be like two rivals fighting for the possession of one man. He knew Christina would not stand her attitude for a minute. 

“No, I don’t think she would. Mr. Fox won’t either. They don’t want us to live together as married couple.”

“They’re worried you’ll make me another baby,” she said, knowing what he thought. “But I can’t have children any more.” 

“Neither can I give you one. I told you they performed the same operation on me they did on Scott,” he told her. “I’m thankful they gave me the freedom I have and moved me to this place, but they still control me and watch every step I take. I have learned to live with it, but you haven’t.”

“I can learn just like you did. This is torture when they control any relationship you have to the woman you love,” Jenny deplored.

“Yes, true…..But that’s the way it is,” he said. “My life has changed so much in the last two months. I haven’t thought they trust me enough to let me have the sphere, but they did.”

“You’re right, my dear,” she said and was a little happier. “Perhaps it’s only a question of time. I’ve waited so long for you, lost you so many times, why not being patient a little longer?” 

“That’s my girl,” he said and kissed her again. “I have a plan anyway. I’m going to ask General Ryder for his permission to marry you and allow you to move in with me. Christina and Fox cannot deny me this request. I’ve analyzed every aspect of this, Jen, and if the general is as fair a man about this as he’s been about everything else so far, then there is no reason he can give to deny our getting married. I need you and Scott to also write the general and ask him as well.”

“Really?” she asked with a new glimmer of hope.

“Yes.”

Her joy was short-lived as her fear took hold once more. “What if he isn’t fair and doesn’t give us permission? What happens then?” 

“Then we try again and again until they say yes. I will never give up asking until I win. Now, do you want me to tell you all the details?”

“Yes! Please!” 

When he finished pointing out step by step why there was no logical or valid reason General Ryder could refuse their wish, Richard came back into her mind. “If I tell Richard about my decision, I have to pay him back the money he paid for my treatment. It’s several thousand dollars.”

“I understand,” Paul replied. “I’ve been working on a plan to give you the money, but I don’t know yet how much they will pay me for the calendar.”

“Then it looks like I have to sign the contract for publishing the book in the revised version,” Jenny said. “God, how much I hate to do it, but I don’t see any other way. I’m totally broke.”

“Why don’t you want to publish the book in the revised version?” he asked, curious. They had talked about this before, but he still couldn’t understand why she didn’t want to give in. Sylvie only made minor changes, the story itself was untouched. The message Jenny wanted to give to the children by writing the book still remained. “I read the revised version. Sylvie hasn’t changed much. Fox is happy that the military doesn’t look like idiots any more. He even helped her with the changes. You’ll get your money. I’m satisfied with the changes. So what’s your problem? Sometimes you have to make compromises.” 

“My problem is,” she started, sounding irritated now, “I don’t like the revised version, because he told her what can stay and what has to be erased or changed.”

Paul still couldn’t understand why this was such a problem for her. “You can start fighting your demons by signing the contract. They really only wanted to help you. They care.”

She laughed silently, but it sounded desperate and hurt. “Why did she have to meet George Fox and take him as her lover? Why, Paul? She was my best girlfriend and she knew I how much I hated him.”

He drew her head closer to his. “Because they were simply made for each other….like you and me.” 

Paul kissed her, this time showing her he wanted her. She hesitated at first, because she was afraid somebody would come in the room while they had sex, but it was too late. He already worked on opening the buttons of her blouse. Jenny forgot thinking of the consequences. Perhaps nobody would find out. They had to be very quiet though. She felt like she was seventeen when she had sex the first time with her boyfriend, her parents watching TV down the hall, thinking they just held hands and watched the stars in the sky. Jenny and Paul began loving each other. The moonlight lit their bed and she felt no other man could ever make her so happy as he could in his strong arms. As soon as Paul had cuddled up behind her, she carefully moved his arm off her hips and stood up. When she was dressed, she returned to the bed and kissed and stroked his head once more. He didn’t wake up. Jenny left quietly the way she came.

###    
**Chapter 17**  


John woke up in the morning and cried for his mother. She went to his room and he complained of having a sore throat. Christina knew what this meant. John had caught the cold Scott was spreading all week. He began feeling feverish. She called his school later and told them he wouldn’t be going in today.

When Paul woke up, he thought Jenny’s secret nightly visit was only a dream, because there was nobody in his bed, but he was sure it had happened. He was completely naked and usually he wore something when he went to bed. He could still smell her perfume under the covers and he wished she would materialize there. When he came downstairs, Christina informed him about John. She was busy eating, but also reading the paper. Paul sat down and began eating breakfast. They didn’t talk much because he knew she hated interruptions when she read the news, but he had to tell her about his plan to e-mail General Ryder.

“Can we talk?” he asked, hoping to sound important enough. She stopped reading.

“About what?”

“About Jenny. I still want to marry her and have her move into my apartment upstairs.” 

When Christina heard it, she growled. It was not enough that her son was sick, but Paul had to start with this conversation again.

“We talked about this,” she reminded him as if he still was a child, and her voice told him she was very annoyed. “When it comes to Jenny Hayden we always fight with each other. I say it one last time: if you marry her, she expects to live with you upstairs all the time. You might have found out meanwhile, she doesn’t like me and I’m not her closest girlfriend either. I don’t want to live with her together in one house. I’m not in the mood to make a try either.”

“But I love her, Christina. I know I’m an alien, but I have feelings as well,” he said. “She told me she wants to leave Richard’s house to end his hopes of getting her back. I’ve talked to her about the rules in this house. She’s agreed to them. I’ll help you both how to learn to live peacefully with each other.” 

She smiled when he heard what he had in mind. It showed how little he knew about women and how it is when two women fight over the same man. 

“No,” she repeated again. “It stays as it is. You can see her as often as possible and I don’t mind if she comes to visit you, but this must be enough. You two can have all afternoon all by yourself upstairs and you can do what you want there.” Paul knew of course what she meant. “No one will disturb your privacy. So what’s your damn problem?” 

Paul hated how much she had to be the master of the house, and reminded her she couldn’t know that until she gave it a chance. “It isn’t up to you to make this decision.” 

Christina was furious now. “You e-mailed General Ryder about this, didn’t you?” she accused. This was her worst fear come true, but not unexpected. She knew it was only a matter of time when he would ask the general for this.

“Not yet, but I am going to. So are Jenny and Scott. You cannot refuse to let me send it. You and Mr. Fox both gave General Ryder your promise on that.” He tried a softer approach. “Jenny can help you with so much right now before the baby is born if you will only let her. She can help clean this house at no extra cost. There’s no need to keep the Spanish cleaner you hired. Jenny isn’t a security risk as she is. She already knows what I am. She can also help with the cooking, laundry and shopping when you’re not feeling well. Also think of the savings in time and economics if she lived here. You wouldn’t have to make time and use your car and gas to take me to see her. Likewise, I wouldn’t have to keep asking you when we can go see Jenny. It will leave you more time to spend here at home to be with John. I just can’t understand why you are being so stubbornly unreasonable. The only one putting up a wall of resistance between you two Christina, is you. It’s unfair, cruel and just plain wrong.”

“No, Paul, I think you are the one who’s unfair. You don’t want to respect my decision about it and you use people to get what you want,” she replied hotly, but also hurt at the same time. “We’ll see. If the General allows Jenny to move in this house, don’t expect me to stay here and volunteer to be your trainer any longer. If she moves in, I’m out of there, okay?” 

She wanted to threaten him by saying her last words, but the truth was that she was hurt and she knew if she didn’t go immediately she would break out in tears any second. She got up and went to her bedroom without speaking another word to him.

 

 _Nobody respects me_ , Christina thought, while she laid on her bed and tried to calm down. It was hard to do so, because she had gotten a bad headache from crying. _I swear if the general allows him that this woman moves in this house I’m going to call him and tell him my opinion. This time I won’t knuckle under like last time._ She thought of how it would be when Jenny lived in this house and of the constant fights they would have with each other over Paul. _And he thinks she’ll help me with the housework! How should Jenny do this, when she’s sick?_ The cancer wasn’t healed yet. Paul meant a lot to her, but as it seemed, living with him in one house didn’t work. She thought over his accusation earlier: _“I just can’t understand why you are being so stubbornly unreasonable. The only one putting up a wall of resistance between you two Christina, is you. It’s unfair, cruel and just plain wrong.”_

 _Is he right or am I only being stubborn? Perhaps it wouldn’t be so horrible when Jenny lives in this house. He’s right about his damn economy thoughts. Is my imagination exaggerating the situation when I think of sharing a house with her? Is it my jealousy which hinders me to welcome her with open arms?_ The time she could have Paul mainly for herself was over anyway. Her job was to train him, not own him. She knew that, but doing it was hard. Did it matter who was right and who was wrong? The fact remained in any case: She didn’t want to live with Jenny under one roof 24 hours a day and didn’t want to be forced to. _Paul, why aren’t you satisfied with how things are?_ Christina hated the changes which were about to happen. More tears appeared in her eyes and she felt the knot in her throat. She knew she had to talk to someone who understood her sorrows.

 

While Christina thought over Pauls accusation in her bedroom, he was upstairs and thought about their argument too. He started his computer and wrote the e-mail to General Ryder, asking him if he could marry Jenny and if he would allow her to move in to his apartment. The mail was ready to send when he thought over the consequences again if the general would grant him his wish. Paul thought they were all adults and the two women would certainly find a way of respecting each other. He’d do everything to help them if they had any problems. At last he sent the e-mail, not knowing what he had started with this request.

 

Christina called George and told him what happened. It felt good to talk at least to someone who was on her side and understood why she didn’t want Jenny to move in this house.

“I’ll tell you what, Christina,” George tried to calm her. Meanwhile he had a lot of experiences with excited women. “If the general allows him his plea, don’t throw in the towel yet. Try your best to be fair. Perhaps it works with you two, perhaps not. If you have the feeling she doesn’t respect your authority, or if she gets constantly on your nerves, tell the general about it. I’ll help you if you want. I think Ryder will certainly understand and reconsider that Paul will have to learn too that he can’t have everything he wants when somebody else is unhappy because of the situation.”

“You’re right, George,” she said. “I’ll do that and I’ll try my best, but you know lately Paul can have anything from the general. I fear in the end the general decides I’ll have to go and not her.”

Fox chuckled and it was so warm hearted that she too saw the situation a little easier and even smiled.

“Don’t worry so much about that, okay?” he asked, “She isn’t living there yet.”

“Yes, but somehow I have the feeling it won’t be long until she does.” 

After the telephone conversation Christina felt much better and had her self-confidence back.

 

Paul was still upstairs when the telephone rang. The police was on the line, informing Christina they had arrested somebody breaking into another house which owners had bought the same kind of vault they did when they moved into this house. They told her the man was a new employee of the company who sold the vault and helped her storing the code into the safe. This was the reason he knew how to open it so easily. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find any of her jewelry when the police searched his home. The arrested man refused to tell them what he had done with his loot. He insisted he had nothing to do with the burglaries, but the fingerprints the police found matched his, and they found a pair of shoes, which prints matched the ones they found in the garden. When Paul came downstairs again, he saw she looked happy. She was still upset with his intention to overrule her authority about Jenny, but she told him the news. He was relieved the burglar had been caught, but he couldn’t share her joy because of her fierce determination that he and Jenny not be allowed to live under the same roof. 

Paul was on the way leaving the room when she said, “General Ryder called too. He said he wants you to check your e-mail daily.”

“For what?” he said in a tone she understood that he was still displeased that she refused to see the logic of his petition. 

“He has written you some days ago and complained why you don’t reply. He told me Jerry contacted him. It looks like they probably need you again.”

“I did answer him at the same time I sent my e-mail about my request. I forwarded my letter to you and Mr. Fox as well,” Paul asked, his voice sad. 

“Aren’t you happy that Jerry needs you again?”

“I am, but it means I would have less time for Jenny or my son.”

 _Not again!_ she thought and growled inside. She knew he loved this woman immensely, but why wasn’t he thankful for the things she helped him to accomplish in the last months? She didn’t want to start another fight with him. Once a day was enough. She wondered if he thought over the end of their last fight about Jenny moving in and if he had given up.

“Nobody can have everything,” she answered him, meaning actually Jenny living in this house, and went to see after her son. 

Now Paul reached the point where he felt miserable as he hadn’t for a long time. Why couldn’t she see she how many problems would be solved if she would just open her heart and welcome Jenny into this house instead of pushing her away? He chose to work in the garden. Some work needed to be done there and he knew gardening would raise his spirits.

 

John’s fever got stronger during the day. In the beginning she didn’t want to fight it, letting the child’s body do what it knew how to do by design. All she did is wrapping his lower legs in vinegar compresses. The boy felt a little bit better in the afternoon, but his throat still hurt him, he had a stuffy nose and headache. Christina was the best mommy she could be, but John wanted to see his dad. She gave in and called him. She informed him about the news. Ben was worried. The ranch expected a bunch of people this afternoon who booked a riding tour, and so he said he wasn’t sure if he could make it before evening. Wylie was especially needed at the ranch today, but Scott found a way to let him go. He called a friend who they called now and then in situations like this. It was after noon when Ben arrived at Christina’s house. John was so happy his father was home. He was a little cranky because he was sick and wanted to be held by his father as long as possible. Ben did this often when John was very young and the boy enjoyed the closeness. Wherever Ben moved in the house, he had to carry his son along. They couldn’t do much today, so Ben went with him in the living room and made him a bed on the couch. He told John stories out of his storybook, then played a child’s card game, and when he didn’t want to eat anything, his father persuaded him to take a bite or two. Some hours later, John fell asleep. Ben was happy, but somehow exhausted as well. He closed his eyes and sleep came over him when he laid down on the short side of the sofa. He didn’t see his wife who went to the child to check his temperature. John still had a fever, but it had lessened since this morning. Christina put a blanket over Ben. When he felt the fabric, he woke up. 

“I’m sorry,” he said and straightened up. “I must have fallen asleep.” 

“Don’t worry, sleep if you want,” she said. “It doesn’t disturb me.” 

He tried to close his eyes again, but he couldn’t sleep any more. Instead, he watched what Christina was doing. She went into the garden where Paul was working again. A minute later she came back and sat down next to where her son was sleeping. Since he was deep in slumber, she took the book she’d started from the coffee table and began reading it. She was purposely ignoring Ben and he didn’t like it. He straightened up and didn’t know what to do. He wanted to begin a conversation, but it was a funny situation because he didn’t know what to say to her. They hadn’t had a real talk since Christmas. His thoughts went back to those days and he thought what happened since then. It was only three and a half months ago! Ben cleared his throat and she looked up from her book. 

“Have you heard already?” he asked, trying to begin a dialog. “Paul’s son will leave when his mother is back.”

“Yes, I know,” she said. “He said something like that. Mr. Hayward doesn’t need two pair of hands.”

“Of course if I quit, he’ll probably stay,” he replied, giving her a small hint of what troubled him.

“Nobody forces you to stay in your job, Ben,” Christina told him, this time with more annoyance. “I told you, you have enough pension to stay at home and enjoy life in your retirement. You were the one who wanted to play cowboy.”

Her voice became a little exasperated at the end and Ben couldn’t stifle down a chuckle. She growled and looked out of the window to check on Paul. He saw him putting his hand tools away, avoiding the swimming pool, giving it a wide berth. The dog was following him with every step. It brought a smile to her face.

“What is it?” Ben asked, when he saw it. 

“Nothing,” she said and went back to being serious again. There was silence between them and he kept eyeing her. She noticed it of course and said, “Ben, please, I don’t want you to constantly watch me. Stop it.”

John woke up then and straightened up. His mother gave him a sip of hot tea and a tissue to blow his nose. He wanted to sit on her lap facing her, but he also wanted to see his father. He cried for him, until Ben sat down beside him. John wanted him to hold his hand. 

“Don’t go away, Dad,” the boy said and leaned on his mother’s chest. “Stay here.”

“I told you why I can’t stay, John,” his father answered with a heavy heart. “I’m not living here any more.”

“Sure you can,” the boy told him. “There is enough room for you. Mom’s bed where you slept is always empty.” Christina and Ben chuckled. Life was so easy for the child. “Say yes, Dad,” the boy pleaded. “Why not? I want you to stay. We can play, and when my sister is born, you can play with her too.”

Ben was surprised and looked at Christina. “It will be a girl?” 

She nodded happily. “Yes. Paul happened to touch me on my shoulder and spoiled the surprise like he did with John.”

“You always wanted to have a girl. You must be very happy.”

“I am,” she said proudly. 

“Please stay here, Dad!” John asked again and went to sit on Ben’s lap. He helped him move from his mother’s lap to his. His father gave him a big hug then and felt how much he loved this child. He missed him so often. People don’t cherish the time with their children enough when they see them every day, but he knew daily how much he missed his seven-year-old. When they separated from the hug, Ben opened his eyes and he noticed his face was wet. 

“Why are you crying, Daddy?” his child asked him, confused by his reaction.

“Because I miss you so often,” he said. “There’s always so much work that I can’t come to see you daily, and you’re right, we should change it.” 

John looked to his mother and now she had to hold his hand. “I want Dad to move back in with us,” he said and Christina didn’t know what she should tell him. 

“But John, I told you your parents don’t love each other any more,” she began, hoping the child would understand.

“Why not?” he wanted to know.

“Because we just don’t.”

The boy didn’t want to give up. He craned his head to his father and asked him bluntly, “Do you still love Mommy?”

“Don’t ask me that question.”

“But I want to know,” he insisted.

Ben looked at Christina and it took him a long time until he faced his son. “Yes, of course, in a way, probably.”

“Really?” his son asked and he sounded astonished and happy. Ben found it uncomfortable what he had to tell him. Christina was surprised over his reaction and listened how the conversation would continue.

“Yes, really,” Ben confirmed again and glanced a long time at his wife. What was her reaction? She looked down at her tummy and became sad.

 

When John went to bed a couple of hours later, but earlier than usual, Christina dismissed Ben. Before he left she asked, “Did you mean what you said this afternoon to John?”

Ben had to admit a lot of things happened between him and her, but there were still feelings he had for her. He always thought he felt this way because they were married for such a long time. 

“Probably,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter. Perhaps it’s better I sign the paper.”

“But you still hesitate. Why?” she wanted to know.

“Because throwing away a marriage which wasn’t so bad after twelve years isn’t easy,” he replied hotly. “Don’t tell me it’s easy for you.”

“No, it isn’t,” Christina carefully answered. “Why did you leave for such a long time, Ben? Only to find out what you want to do with your life? Despite all of that, you hurt me most when you said I betrayed you and that this child I’m carrying is not yours. How could you do this to me? My God, Ben, the baby is yours and you don’t want to have it. It saddens me very much.”

Her accusing, but also hurt eyes, stung him. He felt miserable. 

“Do you still have feelings for me?” he dared to ask. 

She thought how she should answer and remembered the words he told her, “Probably.”

Ben found it clever of her to answer using the same words he’d given her. “I must admit I don’t know what I should tell you now,” he said, “but you hurt me too when you said I had an affair with Jenny and filed for a divorce. My staying there didn’t have anything to do with another woman. I just wanted to find my self again, to find out what I want and what I live for.”

“And have you found what you were looking for?” she interrupted. He looked at her a long time. 

“Kind of,” he replied. “I regained my belief in myself, but I lost my family because of that too. We could be very happy here, but look what happened. Everything’s a mess. Sometimes I regret that everything turned out so bad for us.”

“Me too,” she said. 

They came closer to each other this evening than they had in months and tried to understand each other, but Ben left leaving their future relationship hanging in the air. Perhaps it was better that he left her, because both had a lot to think about when they went to bed.

###    
**Chapter 18**  


The next morning, Richard left early to go get Jenny from San Francisco. It was a four hour drive and he wanted to be back by evening. Unfortunately, people booked riding tours again at the ranch. Normally, he allowed strangers to ride his horses only on rare occasions because you could ruin a good horse with an inexperienced rider’s bad habits, but a friend had asked him if he could do him this favor and allow his guests to take the tour. Yesterday some of them were there and today the rest were due to come. He asked Scott if Linda would come again to help out. Wylie wasn’t trained in giving riding lessons to the people who weren’t experienced enough to follow the others on the tour, so he had to call somebody else. Linda had helped out many times before, so he knew everything would work out in his absence. 

Scott and Ben were busy saddling eight horses before the guests arrived. Linda hadn’t shown up yet, but was expected to come any minute. They still had about half an hour before the people came. Wylie had met Linda before he left to visit his sick son, but he didn’t talk much to her. He only found out how happy Linda was when she saw Scott was back from his long vacation. They had hugged each other almost like they were lovers. Somehow he remembered having seen Linda before. He thought he had seen her in pictures he had once taken for his job. 

“Linda is a pretty thing. Don’t you think so, Scott?” he asked, while he lifted a saddle over a horse.

“She is. Did you know me and her had something going on once?” Scott answered, while he tightened the cinch strap. 

“When I saw her yesterday I had the feeling I saw her while I supervised you for the FSA,” Wylie said. “I had the impression you were very close.”

“We were a couple many years ago, just for a short time,” Scott explained. “We separated because she met somebody else who was a lot richer than me,” he told him and found it funny. 

Since his experience with his first fiancée, he’d had girlfriends, but told them in the beginning they could forget the idea that he would marry them. In the first weeks of romance the girls didn’t care and hoped he would eventually change his mind later, but when they saw it was useless, they began looking for men with serious marriage intentions. “Yesterday she told me she’s getting divorced. Can you believe it? They weren’t even married for four years!”

Ben thought about Linda. She was perhaps a little over thirty and had already a divorce. Young people tended to marry quickly, but they also divorced easily. “Do they have children?”

“No,” Scott answered. “Not yet.”

“Why aren’t you married?” Ben asked him, curious why such a handsome man had no wife yet. He saw how many girls who came to the farm always wanted to get his attention. Ben had the impression that Scott once had something going on with some of them, as he had admitted he had once with Linda.

“I almost was,” Scott said. “But the girl broke my heart. She cheated on me. I don’t think I can ever trust women again.”

“I know the story,” Ben answered, “but not every girl is disloyal. You have to start to trust girls again, otherwise you’ll never find a woman who wants to stay with you.”

“Of course not every gal is disloyal,” Scott replied, “but all of them want to marry rich men and have children. I can’t either give them either one. I always told them before it got serious that I don’t intend to marry them, but they wanted to date me anyway. After a couple of months it mattered all of a sudden and they broke it off.”

 

Linda came a while later and helped them guiding the horses out of the stalls. They waited for the guests. Ben asked Linda what she was doing for a living.

“I was going to school again for the last two years,” she said. “I’ve always been very interested in animals, and horses in particular, and I like children. That’s why I started to become a physical therapist, working mainly in the equine therapy. I bring children with handicaps and horses together. They ride on horses, and when it is done correctly, many of their bodily problems vanishes or at least get a lot better.”

“Yeah, Richard does that here. How much longer will your education take?” Scott wanted to know.

“This is my last semester.”

“And where will you work when you finish your education?” he asked further. She smiled. She and Richard had a long talk some days ago on the phone. He was very glad that she was almost finished with her training and wanted to give her an opportunity with a horse or two to show what she had learned. “In fact I do. I talked to Mr. Hayward. He wants to give me a chance.”

Scott was now really awed. “Whoa, he hasn’t told me a thing about this!”

She laughed and began dreaming. “Perhaps you’ll change your mind and stay on the ranch. We could work together. If you like what I’m doing, you can get a similar education and we could open our own business. Linda and Scott - equine therapeutics.” Now she laughed and Scott giggled too. The idea wasn’t so bad, only he never wanted to a have a business with a former girlfriend of his.

They heard some cars coming. “The guests are here,” Ben said and interrupted Scott and Linda’s daydreaming. Linda took the students, while Scott went with the experienced riders for a ride.

 

Richard arrived at noon at Dr. Woo’s hospital, and after checking out, they began driving home. He was patient and waited until she was ready to talk. She couldn’t evade it any more. Richard knew it. Today was the day she had to tell him if she wanted to stay in his house. When she did, he intended to offer her his hand in marriage again. When they headed home his hopes were still high, although he also knew Jenny loved Paul more than she loved him. It wasn’t hard to understand. If he were a woman he probably would also fall in love with him. Forrester was a handsome man, tall and he had a special magical magnetic attraction with women. Richard hadn’t figured out yet if it was because he wasn’t really human or because he just was this way, but he had to admit he envied Paul for his charisma. He himself wasn’t a total jerk either and he thought he was good-looking as well. Despite all the money he could offer her, Jenny still preferred Paul. He thought about her prospects when she would tell him she’s moving out. He doubted if they would allow them to marry or let her move into his apartment upstairs. What did Paul have that he hadn’t? 

Jenny was thinking basically the same thing, but she had made her decision already. Today she had signed the contract regarding her book. She hated it to do it, but her choice required money. If he wanted it back or not, she had to repay Richard all the money that he had paid to Dr. Woo, and it meant she also had to leave him. She had to not only move out of his house, but also from the cabin she loved so much. If she stayed in the cabin, Richard’s hopes of winning her back would never die. They would see each other too often, and she wanted him to put their marriage finally to an end. She wanted him to find a woman, which would love him just as much as he loved her. This man had really earned it. Jenny felt tears coming up and swallowed. She looked at him. 

“I’m leaving, Richard,” was all she was able to say. She saw him swallow a lump too, and he knew he fought with his tears as much she did. “I think it’s better this way. I want you to find somebody who loves you just as much as you love her. If I stay, you will never give up trying to have me again. I know now where I belong.”

“What a shame,” he said. “I hoped you thought about it wisely. Paul can never offer you what I can. Or has Mrs. Wylie allowed you to move in with him?”

She shook her head no. “Not yet. It doesn’t matter. I’ll try to find a furnished room in the neighborhood or if I can afford it a small studio apartment.”

“This means you won’t move back in the cabin either?” Secretly he hoped she would return there, but it seemed she just wanted to get away from him. 

“No,” she answered. “I’m sorry.”

Richard was devastated. He had trouble concentrating on his driving.

“All these months doesn’t matter any more when I cared for you when you were so sick,” he accused her. It was his last straw to produce a guilty conscience in her and it worked.

“I’m so sorry, Richard,” she repeated. “I’ll pay you back the money you spent on Dr. Woo of course. That was the reason I gave in signing the contract.”

“I don’t need your money,” he said angrily. She watched him for several seconds and he refused to meet her glance. 

“I thought we could stay friends. Please don’t be mad at me. I had to decide one time. Or do you want me to stay in your house and have a relationship with Paul on the side?”

He found her last remark funny. “Which relationship are you talking about? You and him can never live as you and he want or desire. And you know why!”

His accusations were mean, but she understood his motives. “I love him, Richard. I waited thirty-four damn years for him! Now he’s living here. I can’t tell him that I rather want to be your wife. I thought you liked him. Why are you so cruel all of a sudden?”

“I know I owe Paul for what he did last September and I do like him,” he said. “Really, I do, but it hurts when the woman you love, and hoped she loves you too in a certain way, tells you she loves somebody else.”

 

It was Paul’s duty to do the laundry. Christina had taught him how a good housewife would do it. He had to separate the dark clothes from the light ones. Underwear she wanted washed separately. Paul had done the wash many times already since he lived here. She was proud how well he had separated the fabrics. When Christina went in the garage to put the laundry in the dryer she almost fainted. Forrester failed to separate one of his new blue socks she had bought him from the light clothes. The color, which had never been washed before, had stained all of the light clothes. They all had a blue tint, some more, some lesser. When she saw her new blouse she had bought the same day she had bought Paul new clothes was ruined as well, her patience came to an end.

“Paul!” she yelled, but she didn’t hear him answer. 

She called him again, but there was still silence. Furious now, she took the basket and stormed back into the house. Christina found him putting away the breakfast dishes. She angrily set the basket on top of the kitchen table.

“Look what you have done!” she shouted. “I told you to check twice when you separate the clothes. All of the light clothes are totally ruined. My new blouse too!” 

She showed him the garment and when she saw how badly it looked, she lost her nerves. She hit him with the wet fabric and regretted it a second later. She knew she wasn’t allowed to treat him like this. She promised to be his trainer and show him how it is to live life as a human. It didn’t include losing her temper in front of him. Christina sat down in the chair and broke down crying. 

“I’m sorry, Paul,” she said during her sobs. “I’m sorry I lost my nerves.” He knelt down and held her hand. 

“Paul, please don’t tell General Ryder or Mr. Fox I hit you,” she begged him and wondered what he would say. The mistake could cost her dearly if he wanted to use the error against her. 

Forrester didn’t give it a second thought. “It’s okay,” he said and saw her visibly relax. “I’m sorry too. I can fix it if you let me.” 

“How?”

He stood up, pulled out his sphere and showed it to her. She became alarmed at the sight of the marble. “You’re still afraid of this, aren’t you?” She said nothing, but he knew he was right. “There is nothing to be afraid of. I promise I won’t hurt you. Look.” 

He concentrated on the orb and soon it lit up with its light blue color. Christina’s tears stopped and she jumped up from the chair. The light went to the basket with the clothes and covered it. Out of fear, she stepped away, but stayed in the kitchen. Her curiosity was too strong to leave the room. The blue light changed the color of the stained clothes to their original color. When the blue light faded and Paul’s sphere returned to its normal appearance, the clothes in the basket were as they were before he made the error. They were also dry. She came closer and dared to touch the fabrics. When she saw he fixed the mishap, her smile returned.

“I did this once to a bridal dress too,” he explained happily and proud at the same time. “She wanted a white dress and it was pink.”

“Yes, I remember reading the story,” she exclaimed, still in awe. She couldn’t take her eyes off her blouse. Now it was at least white again.

“I’m sorry I made you angry,” he said. “It was entirely my mistake, but next time please try to remain calm. It’s not good for your baby when you’re so excited all the time.”

“Yeah, listen, sometimes it’s just not easy to keep my cool around you,” Christina said in the funniest voice she could manage. She wasn’t successful and her voice trailed off into desperation. “Sometimes I have the feeling everything grows over my head.” Both looked at each other and when Paul smiled, she tried to do the same. What else remained for her than to take it easy? 

After some time he asked, “You and Ben talked yesterday. What does he want to do?”

Christina sat down with the blouse in her hands. “Ben,” she said a little dreamy, “Ben doesn’t know what he wants.”

“Did you get the feeling he wants to come back to you?” Paul asked carefully, hoping she wouldn’t get mad again because he had asked such an intimate question. 

“Would you take him back in my case?” she asked, hoping he had advice for her.

“Yes, I would, Christina,” he answered and bent down to her to touch her shoulder, until she looked him in the eyes. “If you want to give him another chance, you must also tell him about it. Don’t wait for him to take the first step.”

“I also want him to love our unborn child. I won’t take him back when he’s rejecting it.” With carefulness she stroked her small baby belly.

“You said we’re driving this evening up to the ranch,” Paul said, shifting the conversation. “You promised it!” 

Christina looked up to him. She didn’t know what he wanted to say by reminding her. “Yes, I know, I haven’t forgotten. Jenny’s returning today. If John’s feeling okay and doesn’t have a fever any more, we’ll go.”

“Today’s a good opportunity to tell him what you want from him,” he proposed and sounded optimistic. Christina thought over the idea, but hated it that she had to be the one to take the first step. Ben didn’t dare to ask her if he could come back. Paul was right. If she wanted to give him a second chance, she had to give him an invitation to ask her for it.

 

John felt better, at least he said so, and Christina had no excuses any more to stay at home. When they were on the road, she was deep in thought. Paul didn’t want to disturb her, so he looked mostly out of the window. 

“I have thought over our argument,” she suddenly said and waited until Paul craned his head to her. “About Jenny.”

“Yes?” Paul asked, curious what she would tell him. Had she changed her mind?

“You can tell her if she needs money I’ll lend her some.”

“You would?”

“I don’t know who paid for her treatment in San Francisco. However, if she’s broke I’ll lend her money if she needs it.”

Paul was surprised that Christina offered her money. “Thank you, that’s kind of you. I’ll tell her.”

 

They arrived at the ranch just when Scott came back with his tour guests. Sparky jumped out of the car, happy to be in a familiar environment again and began checking out his territory. Scott waved his hand from his horse in welcome. Since he was so busy unsaddling the other horses, he couldn’t talk much. Ben meanwhile said good-bye to the guests. When they all left, he came and welcomed his family and Paul.

“How are you feeling today?” Ben asked his son and knelt down to him to give him a big hug. Christina had forced him to put on a thick jacket and a scarf. John was feeling better, but he wasn’t yet healthy. He coughed a lot too. 

“Okay,” John answered and took him by his hand when Ben stood up. 

“You came to greet Jenny, right?” he asked his wife and Forrester. 

“Yes, haven’t they arrived yet?” Paul wanted to know. 

“No, Richard drove off early this morning. We’re waiting for them to come back any minute.” To John he said, “If you want, I’ll allow you to ride the pony we used for one of the younger guests. There was a boy in the group your age. Linda gave him a riding lesson. The pony needs to cool down. Do you want to ride him?” 

“Yess!!” the boy shouted enthusiastically, his cold forgotten for the moment. 

“I’ll be right back, John. Wait here. I’ll help Scott unsaddle the horses. I’ll be back in five minutes. You can wait here. Sit him in the saddle if you want,” he said to Christina.

The pony was tied to the paddock fence and they went to it. She put her son on top of the small horse and waited for Ben. Paul followed Wylie in the stable. They arrived when Linda said good-bye to Scott. She was in a hurry. They separated with a handshake, but Linda gave Scott a kiss on his cheek. He kissed her on her cheek when he saw she waited for it.

“Think over my idea, Scott, okay?” she said, but he only smiled. 

“No, Linda, I don’t think it would work. Besides, Ben works here as a farmhand and I told you Richard won’t pay for two helpers. I need to find work somewhere else.”

“All right,” she answered and looked disappointed. She liked the idea of having her own business. “It was just an idea…..See you!”

She turned and bumped into Paul, who came in at that moment towards the young people. 

“Oh,” the young woman hastily said. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.” Then she met his glance for the first time and was automatically fascinated by his hypnotic gentle blue eyes. 

“Hi, I’m Paul Forrester, Scott’s father,” he greeted Linda and offered her his hand. 

She had trouble looking away, but shook his hand a moment later without breaking eye contact. The man had something magical about him. She liked his eyes. Linda had seen those eyes before, because Scott radiated the same gentleness. But Scott’s eyes were brown and his father had extremely blue eyes she had never seen like them before.

“Hi,” she finally said, “I’m Linda Carter. Sometimes I help out here.”

“Nice to meet you Linda. I remember seeing you here before,” Paul replied politely. “You were here last September when Scott made a join up with Rasputin, the horse of the Cantrell’s. You rode him that day in the circle, didn’t you?” 

Linda remembered the session. “Yes, that’s true, that was me.” Then she remembered what Scott had told her of his father. She looked a little puzzled. “Scott told me his father is dead. Are you his stepfather?” 

She looked to Scott for help, but Paul explained, “No, I’m his real father, but I left many years ago and my family thought I was dead.” 

It was the truth, but Linda didn’t understand the circumstances. She was still confused, but she didn’t want to ask more about it. From Scott’s and his father’s looks, it seemed to be a very complicated and painful story, and she didn’t want to rouse any hurt feelings.

“I understand,” she said and changed the topic to lighten the air. “So, perhaps we’ll see each other again, Mr. Forrester. It was nice meeting you.” Linda waved good-bye to Scott again and he and Paul waved back when she was leaving the stall.

“Nice girl,” Paul said when she was gone.

“Yeah,” Scott answered and concentrated again scraping out the hooves of his horse. “She getting an education as physical therapist and works then in the equine therapy.”

Paul asked what kind of therapist this was and after explaining to him Linda’s dream of having an own business together with him, Paul became enthusiastic.

“That’s a great idea. You can stay here and get what you always wanted.”

“But Dad,” Scott reminded him, “How many times do I have to tell you that Richard doesn’t need two farm helpers? If I want to become the same kind of therapist as Linda will be, I need to go back to school for at least four semesters. What am I supposed to live on when nobody pays me here?”

“I see,” was Paul’s sad reply. He hadn’t thought about that. The military gave him a small monthly allowance, but every other person in the world needed currency of some sort.

“Besides,” Scott continued, “since she knows she’s getting divorced, she just wants to find somebody who comforts her until she finds somebody else. She and me were together once, before she married. We stayed friends, but today I got the impression she wants to start flirting with me again.”

“That’s the exaggeration of the day,” Wylie teased him from the other end of the stable. He obviously heard the conversation and wanted to give Scott his opinion. “She only likes you. I wish she would find me so attractive.”

“Oh shut up! You’re just jealous!” Scott answered him. Wylie stopped what he was working on and approached them. 

“I’m not jealous at all,” he said.

“Aren’t you?” Scott asked with the same joking voice, until Ben gave Scott a pinch in his side. Only after feeling the nip did the young man give up bantering him.

“How are you, Ben?” Paul asked when he saw Ben’s attention went to Christina and John outside. She had untied the horse from the fence and lead John on the pony up and down the place in front of the stall. 

“Pardon me, what did you say?” he asked, when he noticed Paul was watching him. 

“I asked how you are,” Forrester repeated and turned his head to see what held the man’s fascination. 

“Fine, thank you. Why are you asking?”

The Starman kept eye contact with him. His eyes told him how much his family mattered to Ben. He loved both of them, but it was hard to admit it after all the things that happened lately. 

“I heard your conversation yesterday,” Paul admitted and hoped Ben would tell him about his feelings the same way Christina did this morning.

“You did?”

“Yes, we talked about you this morning,” Paul told him. “I think if you want to have her back, she would take you, but she told me she wants you to accept her baby as well.”

“I thought so,” Ben admitted and his mood suddenly changed. “That’s my problem.”

“Ben,” Paul said and took him by his arm. “Why is the baby a problem for you?” he asked and Wylie looked up. “You’re the only one who still believes somebody else is the father. You don’t need to have any doubts. Christina never betrayed you, not even when you were gone for the last months.” Ben looked down again and felt torn apart. He didn’t know what he should do or answer. “Christina needs you, Ben,” Paul continued, “as a husband, as a father and as a friend. If you don’t take the chance now to begin talking seriously with her about your feelings, the gap between you and her will become wider and wider. The baby will be born in a couple of months, and if you don’t come back, the girl will grow up with me being her father figure. Do you really want this to happen, even though she does have a father?”

Ben looked desperate. His glance went from Paul to Scott, then to Christina and John outside. Was he strong enough to win over his fears and go and talk to her? 

“I think today is a good time to say how much she still means to you and how sorry you are,” Paul said at last and Ben looked to him again. 

“I guess you’re right,” he said and squeezed Paul’s arm and left to talk to his wife. 

 

Scott was watching with interest the talk his father had with Wylie. He was impressed how gently his father was able to bring so much courage back to Ben. He never thought that Wylie would find the nerve to admit how sorry he was to Christina.

“You’re something very special, Dad,” he said with pride in his eyes. “I’m so proud to have a father like you. You can win wars only by giving advice.”

Paul smiled, happy about the progress he was able to produce. “If she takes him back, I’ll bet he quits working here and you can have your job back.”

“Perhaps,” Scott said. 

“If he quits, will you stay here?”

Scott thought a long time before he gave him an answer. “Yes, I would. At least for the moment,” he said, sounding relatively sure.

Paul was glad to hear that. He didn’t want Scott to move to another place. The result would be they could see each other less often than they did now. He enjoyed being with his son. Paul had lost so many years with him. He wanted to be with him as often as possible. On the other hand, he didn’t want to hold him back either if he wanted to work someplace else. Scott was all grown up and could do what he wanted, but it would complicate a lot of things. His mother would be very sad if he worked somewhere else.

Scott went back to work. Four horses still waited to get unsaddled. 

“Do you want me to help you?” Paul asked and Scott happily accepted his help.

 

Five minutes later, John lead the pony in the stall. Scott saw him and went to him, helping him unsaddle the small horse. He heard Ben and Christina talking outside. They talked about Ben’s job. She told him if he wanted to come back, she wanted him to quit being a cowboy. It wasn’t an order, it was more a request. Since it meant so much to her he said he would. 

“It seems your dad’s coming back to live with you again,” Scott told John, while he handed him the bridle to wash. “You must be very happy.”

“I heard how my dad said how sorry he was and that he wants to come back to Mom and me and the baby,” John told him before he went to the faucet to wash the bit. 

“What did your mom say?” Scott asked with curiosity. 

“She said she was sorry too.”

“Did they kiss?” he wanted to know, hoping not to sound too nosy.

John giggled shyly. It wasn’t an answer for Scott, but if John would have confirmed it, he could have been sure that the reconciliation had worked. 

 

All the horses were in their stalls and fed. Scott, Paul and John came outside and saw Christina sitting on the wooden bench Richard had bought not long ago for waiting guests. Ben sat closely beside her and had an arm around his wife and pulled her body to his chest. When they saw the two men and the boy coming, Christina opened her arms and John came running. When he arrived in her waiting arms, she began kissing and hugging him. Paul and Scott approached them and saw tears in Christina’s eyes. Were they tears of joy or pain? Ben still had his arm around her shoulder. It could only mean they had forgiven each other.

“Ben’s moving into our house again, Paul,” she informed him. “I hope you don’t mind when you aren’t the only cock in the walk any more.” She found it amusing and laughed. Her feelings overwhelmed her again and more tears appeared in her eyes. Ben reacted to it by pulling her to his heart.

“A cock in the walk?” Paul asked confused. He never heard the expression before. Scott remembered the scene like in old times.

“It means you aren’t the only man in the house any more when Ben returns.”

Paul eyed his son, still confused. “But what about John? Isn’t he a male too?”

“Gee Dad,” Scott said. “What would we do without your humor!”

 

They talked some more about the details, and Ben told Scott if he returned to Christina, he would quit his job. He asked if Scott wanted to have his job and his old apartment back. Scott accepted, since everybody wanted him to stay so much. Some more minutes passed, until they finally saw Richard’s car coming up the driveway. Paul hurried to the front passenger side and opened Jenny’s door. She dashed out and jumped in Paul’s arms. They didn’t need a verbal welcome. They began kissing and hugged each other as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. They were still embraced when Scott pushed himself between them and couldn’t wait until it was his turn to say welcome. 

“Mom!” he exclaimed joyfully and began hugging her. “Welcome back!” In between hugging her, he kissed her on the cheek and picked her up, whirling her around until he put her on the ground again.

“Gee, my big boy,” Jenny said happily. “I missed you so much!”

Sparky was dancing around his returned owner and yapping continuously, until she finally picked him up. The dog whined and licked her face. She showed her affection to the dog. “Yes, yes, I missed you too, my little pup.” Then she noticed how fat he’d become. “Gee, they fed you really good while I was gone. You’re going to go on a diet! ”

“How are you, Mrs. Hayden?” Christina asked when she arrived at the car. Jenny put the dog down, took Paul’s hand for emotional and mental support, and showed everyone to whom she belonged.

“Better,” Jenny answered. “Dr. Woo said I’m not healed yet. This illness needs time. It can take years until all the symptoms are gone.”

“You look a lot better since I saw you last,” Christina commented honestly. “You gained a little weight too. The stay in San Francisco changed your appearance for the better.”

“Thank you,” Jenny replied and noticed that Ben was standing behind his family again. She greeted him and their son. 

Everybody was so busy welcoming Jenny, nobody had noticed Richard coming around the car. He greeted Christina and her son with a handshake, and at last he turned to Paul to offer him his hand. Forrester took it. When their hands touched, he received a lot of mixed feelings from the man. He knew instantly what Richard was feeling at the moment. Surprisingly, Paul felt guilty, but it was Jenny’s decision that she chose him instead of Richard. 

“I’m sorry for you,” he said, expressing his sympathy. The others didn’t know why he apologized, but Richard understood completely.

“Never mind, Forrester,” he answered and withdrew his hand. To everybody he said, “It was a long drive. I want to rest a little.” He left and went towards his house.

“Richard, wait!” Scott shouted. “There’s so much I need to tell you!” He ran to him and grabbed his arm to turn him around. The rancher, who had lost his love, didn’t want to hear anything at the moment.

“Later, Scott. Okay?” he begged and indicated he wanted to be alone. Scott noticed tears welling in his stepfather’s eyes, something he hadn’t seen on him in many years. What had happened? Instead of asking, Scott let go of him and he continued walking. Scott came back to the others.

“What happened?” he asked his mother, while Richard entered his house and closed the door.

“I told him today I’m leaving him.” Everybody looked at her, but nobody asked why, so Jenny continued, “I won’t return living in the cabin either. It’s better this way. I want to see if I can get a furnished room somewhere in the neighborhood and a job, too.” 

“You can stay with me Mom until you find a room,” Scott offered. 

“Thank you,” she said and eyed Christina in particular. “I know you won’t allow me to move in with Paul. Perhaps one day you’ll understand that loving him also means I need to be with him as he needs to be with me.” She felt Paul squeezing her hand. 

Jenny hoped one day she could accept her on Paul’s side as his wife instead of as his girlfriend. Right now, what was important was they were together again. Nobody forced them to run for their lives. She knew the people Paul had to live with really cared for him. She had to be thankful for that. _“Be thankful for what you have and be frugal,”_ is something she had learned from Dr. Woo. 

“I’ve signed the contract for publishing my book with Sylvia’s changes too,” she finished.

“You did?” Paul asked and she smiled when she looked into his surprised eyes. 

“I need to pay Richard back the money he spent for my treatment,” Jenny explained. “I owe him that much and I thought about what a friend once told me: It’s the message that counts and not little details. If Fox is happy with it, I am too, although I’d rather tell the children how it really was.” She felt Scott squeezing her shoulder, telling her how proud he was of her and Paul said it aloud. He knew she meant him when she mentioned “a friend” and he was proud of her that she understood the advice he had given her. 

 

Christina informed Jenny about the changes that would come regarding her and Ben and told her of their reconciliation.

“I’m happy for you,” Jenny commented and congratulated them for coming together again. 

“I think we better get going. It’s late too,” Christina said. “If you’re not too tired after the long drive, I’ll invite you for dinner today, Mrs. Hayden.” Jenny was surprised over the offer, but accepted it happily. It meant she could spend the whole evening with her love. “Are you coming too, Scott?” He thought a moment about the offer, because he thought of Richard. He wanted to see the rancher later to talk to him and help him understand his mother’s decision. He accepted the invitation, but wanted to leave early to see if the heartbroken man was ready to talk yet. “Then let’s go,” Christina proposed, and she took Ben’s hand and they started walking. John asked Sparky to run with him to the car and the dog ran barking after the child. The others started to walk towards the car. Paul’s arm was around Jenny’s waist and Scott was walking next to them.

“You know what?” Paul asked both Jenny and Scott, and they looked at him to hear his answer. 

“Today is the first evening we are united as family and don’t have to think of running and hiding. I hadn’t thought I’d live to see this day,” he said with heartfelt emotion. “Paul Forrester was right when he assured me life can be so beautiful.” 

Jenny understood what he meant and squeezed him tight. They were able to accomplish so much since Paul had left this ranch the last time. Perhaps all of her dreams would come true as time went on. 

 

Later that evening, Paul opened up his e-mail as he’d done since he’d sent his request to General Ryder to marry Mrs. Hayden. Maybe today he’d get an answer from the man. His eyes lit up when he read the subject line. This was it. He clicked on the line and the message opened. Paul read it with Jenny and Scott standing beside him. 

Dear Paul,  
I have received and thoroughly reviewed your petition requesting your marriage to Mrs. Hayden and joining you in residence with Mrs. Wiley and her son. I also received additional petitions from Mrs. Hayden and Scott Hayden as well, requesting the same. Both of them have argued valiantly on your behalf to be allowed to join Mrs. Hayden in holy matrimony. I’ve analyzed and reviewed each of your pros and cons and find them to be quite sound. However, I am denying your request for marriage at this time. Having said that, I am granting permission for Mrs. Hayden to live with you. Pending the outcome of this arrangement, if you still wish to pursue marriage to Mrs. Hayden, and she wishes the same, I will reconsider your request in one year. At that time, I will also petition for your release from our custody. Good luck.

Sincerely yours,

General Ethan Ryder, USAF

CC: to George Fox  
Mrs. Benjamin Wiley 

Paul smiled and turned his head to Jenny. They kissed. 

“Do you think you can wait a year to be Mrs. Paul Forrester?”

“What do you think? I’ve waited thirty-four years. What’s one more?” she replied and kissed him again. 

“Boy, I can just imagine her face when she reads that,” Scott said with a grin.

“Yes,” Paul said slowly and craned his head to look at his son. “Let’s not tell her tonight, okay? She just got her husband back. Let’s not spoil the evening for them,” he finished and turned to Jenny.

“I won’t say anything to her. I need to get my things from Richard’s house anyway. I can wait one more day to move in.”

“Thank you.” 

He hadn’t gotten everything he wanted, yet, but he was one step closer to the final goal.

To be continued …


End file.
